


With a Little Help From my Friends

by Valethra



Series: With a Little Help From my Friends (DR) [1]
Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types
Genre: Confessions, Friendly Meddling, Friendship, M/M, Mondo being a cheesy dork, Mondo gets a makeover, Romance Mastermind Kirigiri, what are tags
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-08
Updated: 2017-01-17
Packaged: 2018-09-15 21:10:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 23,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9257375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Valethra/pseuds/Valethra
Summary: In which Kiyotaka and Mondo are such romantically inexperienced idiots that their friends are forced to interfere. Contains disgusting amounts of friendship, blushing, and fluff.Chapters are structured a bit oddly. Fic will follow Mondo first, then jump back in time to follow Kiyotaka in the meantime, and will then join everyone together.





	1. Mondo, Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> The other possible outcome of About Him. Will have short sequels following this version of events later.

Mondo Oowada was going insane.

Some people might have said that he was already insane based on his reputation and his lifestyle, but they didn't know what went on inside his head. There was a method to his brand of madness. There was an order, a way things were supposed to be done.

The absolute agony of being in love with his best friend was _not_ part of the plan, and the more he thought about it the more he felt like throwing himself out the nearest window or taking a very long, very cold shower for the rest of eternity.

At first he had tried to deny it. He had tried to dismiss the fluttering in his chest and the flip-flopping in his stomach and the blood that was constantly rushing to his face as symptoms of his intense friendship with his kyoudai. He made excuses for his constant urge to hug him and put his arm around him, and he rationalized away his daydreams about what it would be like to kiss him—

Actually, _that_ was where everything had ground to a halt, where he had been left with no choice but to accept that his feelings had evolved past what one could really call platonic.

Strangely, he felt no mourning for his lost friendship. This was because he hadn't lost it. Kiyotaka Ishimaru was still his best friend, the best anyone could ask for. It was just that he was _more than that_ now, and Mondo feared that if he told the truth— if he admitted that things had gotten so bad he'd started imagining their future domestic life together and had already decided what kind of dog-child they would adopt and what they would name it— he would drive Kiyotaka away. There was no doubt in his mind that the prefect was... _inexperienced_ when it came to love.

For several weeks after Mondo's realization, things continued as normal. He and his kyoudai still spent most of their days together, oftentimes in comfortable silence as they did their respective tasks, and oftentimes laughing and talking about whatever came to mind. Mondo had even learned to appreciate Kiyotaka's regular scoldings, as he had realized it was only ever done out of concern for his well-being. Mondo thought to himself that maybe things could stay this way, that he could swallow down his feelings and nothing had to change and that eventually his heart would learn to beat normally again.

This was wishful thinking.

Mondo began to notice more and more of Kiyotaka's adorable quirks (when had they become adorable instead of annoying?), and every time he looked too long at his ruby eyes or his pursed lips or his slender hands, he felt the urge to make Kiyotaka _his_ rise once more. He started making excuses for leaving their outings early, started dodging him in the halls and avoiding his gaze in class.

Kiyotaka was dense when it came to these sorts of things, but even he was beginning to notice, and finally he asked the question that shot through Mondo's heart like a bullet. They were walking to their next class, and Kiyotaka had caught up to Mondo without him noticing.

"Kyoudai, do you not wish to be my friend anymore? You have been avoiding me. What have I done that has upset you?"

_Bang_. Right through the heart. Mondo had half a mind to check himself into the infirmary, but instead he turned bright red, and his voice rose in volume as it always did when he was nervous.

"No, no, that's not it at all! Ya got the wrong idea, Taka, I swear to god! 'S just..."

_What was it, exactly? What was he supposed to say?_ The biker risked a brief glance at Kiyotaka, who was looking up at him with those expectant red eyes, and he stomped his foot in frustration.

" _Fuck!_ "

And just like that, Mondo took off running down the hallway like a coward, his hypothetical tail tucked between his legs. He could feel Kiyotaka's eyes burning holes in his back.

It became clear right then and there that something had to be done. He couldn't keep going on like this, and no matter what course of action he took it was possible that his kyoudai would get hurt. It was better, then, to be honest, right? That's what Daiya would say, right?

That was what had led up to this: the pivotal moment.

Mondo glanced at the clock and saw that the class period was nearing its end. This was a good window of time. It would mean that he wouldn't have to spend thirty minutes awkwardly awaiting a response, but that there would be _time_ for a response.

He had seated himself near the front that day and made sure his desk was positioned right next to Kiyotaka's. The prefect had been delighted to see him, of course, after his little running-in-the-halls stunt from earlier (a stunt for which he was then reprimanded). Mondo glanced at Kiyotaka and saw that his gaze was fixed on the chalkboard in front.

Mondo casually slid a folded piece of paper onto Kiyotaka's desk and withdrew his hand entirely before the other boy even had a chance to react.

The method he'd chosen was perhaps the cheesiest and least confrontational in the world, but it was the best he could manage without a personal pep rally. He'd gone _way_ old school. The note simply read _Will you go out with me?_ followed by a small heart. Underneath were two checkboxes, one for _yes_ and one for _no_.

To his immediate surprise, Kiyotaka _glared_ at him, and then promptly crumpled the note and threw it back at Mondo. Mondo felt like his heart had been crumpled, somehow.

"The hell was that for?!" He hissed under his breath.

"Passing notes in class is against the rules," Kiyotaka responded. He said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world, as oblivious as always.

Mondo slammed his head against his desk, folding his pompadour in the process. He did not notice Kyouko Kirigiri's icy stare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good job Mondo 10/10


	2. Mondo, Part 2

Plan A had failed. Actually, it had bombed, miserably and spectacularly. Maybe he was exaggerating, but that was how it had felt. Mondo was now forced to resort to Plan B.

...Which was, unfortunately, very similar to Plan A.

After the failed attempt to pass Kiyotaka his note, Mondo had two other classes to take, neither of which the other boy was in (and thankfully so, as his presence would have made him insanely nervous). He'd spent most of those class periods impatiently tapping his feet, unable to think of anything but what he was planning to do. For a moment or two he tried to come up with a better plan, but being no champion of romance, no such better idea came to mind.

He felt a moment of panic during his last class when it occurred to him that he'd literally never gotten anyone to go out with him. Before, it had been girls, and he understood now that girls weren't exactly his cup of tea, but the point was that all of his previous attempts had failed. This history of failure was scary now that he was _actually interested_ in someone.

Now, though, all Mondo had to do was wait, as he'd opted for the written word to avoid the risk of yelling. He stood as inconspicuously as possible next to a row of lockers and leaned against a wall. He didn't want to give off the appearance that he was waiting for Kiyotaka, though that was, of course, exactly what he was doing.

"Oowada-kun, what are you doing?"

A smooth voice interrupted his train of thought, and Mondo turned to see Kirigiri eying him with blatant suspicion. She had appeared seemingly out of nowhere. He hadn't even heard her shoes.

_How does she always do that?!_

"...'M not doing anything," he managed when the shock passed.

For a moment, the two only stared at one another, and Mondo had no idea what to say. He could feel her studying him like he was a textbook, probably looking for a tell that he was lying, and he was sure he had many. He was no master of subtlety.

Mondo didn't _dislike_ Kirigiri. She was nice enough when she wanted to be, and he respected her skills. He simply didn't know how to read her.

Not that he was a champion at reading people in general, but... Kirigiri was a special case, and he knew it wasn't just him. Normally he felt like he was supposed to protect women. With her, he couldn't help feeling unnerved, and also like she'd never need his help to begin with... Even like he would be getting in her way if he tried. He didn't know how to feel about that. In all honesty, she somewhat frightened him. She _intimidated_ him.

He'd never admit to that, of course. He'd never hear the end of it from his gang. "Boss is scared of a little girl!" They'd laugh, and he felt his face go red at the mental image alone.

After several seconds of silence, Kirigiri flipped her pale hair over her shoulder and rubbed her chin thoughtfully with a gloved hand. Just then Mondo thought he saw Makoto Naegi poke his head out of a doorframe and peek at the two of them, but dismissed it as his imagination. He was probably so accustomed to seeing the smaller boy trailing behind her that he'd started imaging him where he wasn't.

"Well, you're clearly doing _something_ , so there is no point in lying," she said bluntly, looking almost offended that he'd try to fool her with something that simple.

"It's _none of yer business_ what I'm doin'," the gang leader clarified, muttering under his breath. Kirigiri narrowed her lavender eyes, and then a small smile formed on her face as she quickly noted the paper in Mondo's hand and saw Kiyotaka leaving a nearby classroom.

"I believe I have seen all that I need to. I will talk to you later," she said matter-of-factly. She then disappeared as suddenly as she had appeared. She never entered or exited a room in a normal fashion.

Mondo took a moment to process what had just happened. He felt like Kirigiri had somehow pieced together what was going on, though that would mean that she had been watching him for some time.

_The hell does she mean, she'll talk to me later? Don't I have any say in that? What's her fuckin' deal, anyway?!_

_Oh, Right! Taka!_

The boy in question (the object of his affections) had just left his classroom and was already more than halfway down the hall. The day's classes were over and done with, so it was likely that Kiyotaka was headed back to his dorm to change out of his uniform before... Well, studying. The same thing he did every day after school if he didn't have any other plans.

It broke his heart a bit that Kiyotaka didn't look around to find him, as he would have done a few weeks prior.

"Taka— Kyoudai! Hang on a sec!"

Kiyotaka froze and looked at the biker with wide, startled eyes. Mondo caught up to him in several long strides— his longer legs gave him an advantage here. Before the hall monitor could respond, Mondo yanked his hand open and shoved yet another completely identical note into his palm.

(Actually, it wasn't _quite_ identical. He'd used his last class to make a much nicer note on prettier paper, seeing as his previous one had been crumpled. It was incredibly superficial and dorky, yes, but he felt like it increased his chances somehow.)

"Jus' read it, okay?! And... An' get back to me later!"

Mondo turned on his heel and sprinted away yet again.

"K... Kyoudai, no running in the halls! I do not wish to have to write you up!"

Kiyotaka saw Mondo slow to an awkward speed-walk before he disappeared into his dorm. Mondo's only comfort was that the prefect couldn't see the redness of his face.


	3. Mondo, Part 3

Mondo slid down his dorm room door, the one he had leaned upon as soon as he'd gotten it closed, and sat on the floor with his hands on his face and his legs folded. He let out a long groan, mostly of annoyance at himself for picking such a cheap way to confess his feelings. _Taka deserves better_ , he thought.

Just then it occurred to him what that train of thought really meant— even if Kiyotaka _did_ accept his feelings, what was he expecting to come from it?

Kiyotaka Ishimaru planned to become prime minister someday, and there was no doubt in Mondo's mind that he _could_ and _would_ do it. Where did that leave him? What good could possibly come to Kiyotaka out of dating the _ultimate biker gang leader?_

_Taka deserves **so** much better... better than **me**._

Mondo glumly stood and changed out his uniform into his usual ensemble. He tugged his Crazy Diamonds jacket on somewhat sadly, and for the first time it felt strangely heavy, like a weight tugging him down. He caught a glimpse of his own face in the wall-length mirror— sharp violet eyes framed in thick liner and a giant pompadour dyed a different color than the rest of his natural hair. He grimaced, trying to imagine such a person beside Kiyotaka as he delivered his first speech as prime minister.

It was impossible to picture.

Just as Mondo wondered if he could somehow steal the note from Kiyotaka without him reading it, he heard a light rapping at his door. He stomped to it angrily. He knew instantly that the knock was not his kyoudai's— the prefect always rapped the door loudly exactly three times.

"What?!" Mondo shouted as he threw the door open. He blinked in surprise.

Standing at his door, acting like it was completely natural, was Makoto Naegi. Yasuhiro Hagakure and Leon Kuwata were just behind him. Leon had a hand thrust suspiciously into his pocket, and he looked almost like he was awaiting some kind of signal. Hagakure looked as dazed and distant as ever (seriously, what _does_  that guy smoke?). Naegi sported his typical friendly smile, but this one seemed almost forceful in the absolute kindness it portrayed.

"Hey, Oowada-kun! We were wondering if we could chat for a while!" Naegi said casually.

Mondo leaned against the doorframe and folded his arms.

"And since when do the three of ya pop by my dorm for a chat?"

"Well we're friends, aren't we, Oowada-chi? We just feel like we haven't spent too much time together lately!" Hagakure supplied. He stroked his chin stubble with his thumb and flashed a wide grin.

Mondo supposed that he considered the trio his friends, but they weren't exactly buddy-buddy in the way that he and Kiyotaka were (he guessed that his own forceful nature was mostly to blame). _Chihiro_ was by his side more often than these three guys were. That said, he respected Naegi, and always had a blast with Leon and Hagakure. He sighed and stepped out of the doorway, allowing the three other boys to squeeze by him.

Leon immediately flopped down on his bed without asking for invitation, though he had removed his phone from his pocket and kept it tightly gripped in his hand. Hagakure set about studying the room, and at the moment was closely studying the motorcycle calendar above his nightstand. Naegi stood politely at the foot of the bed, eyes fixed on Mondo.

Mondo moved to the corner of the room and dragged out several beanbag chairs, pulling them into position around the low round table all of the dorm rooms came equipped with. He sat down and tapped the chair beside him. Naegi gave him a grateful nod before taking a seat himself.

"So what'd ya wanna talk about?" Mondo asked, and Naegi just about jumped out of his own skin. He looked over at Leon, who was now sitting at the end of the bed and facing them, and the redhead nodded and tugged on his goatee.

"...Look, Oowada-kun, I'm just going to be honest with you. Kyouko-chan tipped us off."

Mondo stiffened.

"And what exactly did she say t' ya?"

Leon started to giggle, and tried to cover his mouth. Hagakure's slightly shaking shoulders betrayed that he was doing the same, even if he wasn't facing Mondo.

"You've got it _bad_ , man," Leon choked through his laughter. Mondo felt his own cheeks begin to redden.

"G...Got _what?!_ "

(Mondo knew exactly what he meant.)

"We know what's in the note you, uh, _handed off_ earlier. Kyouko-chan figured it out. She said that just about anyone could have, though," Naegi explained. Mondo slapped his hand against his own face in a vain attempt to hide the redness.

"W-Well, what business is that of yours?! I've got everythin' under control!"

"Oh, do you? I mean, really, a _note?_ This ain't middle school!" Leon taunted. Mondo picked up one of his notebooks and threw it at him, and the baseball player easily dodged it. Hagakure finally turned around and clapped his hands together.

"Despite what Kuwata-chi may say, we didn't come here to make fun of you. The opposite, really. We're here to help!" The fortune teller took a seat in one of the plush chairs and placed his crystal ball on the table. Mondo quirked an eyebrow at him.

" _Help me?_ Why?"

"Why?! 'Cause you two are, like, _meant to be_ , man! Says so right here!" Hagakure gestured vaguely at the crystal ball. Mondo glanced at it. He didn't see anything.

"Aaaand also because it's been killin' ya for a while. We can all tell, dude. You keep avoiding everybody, and you're no fun that way!" Leon added. He was just now sliding off of the bed to join everyone else at the table.

Mondo sighed and leaned forward over the table to hold his head in his hands. He hadn't been avoiding _everybody_. Just Kiyotaka. Which sometimes meant avoiding whoever else happened to be with him.

"...Look, I kinda jus' realized that how I feel doesn't really matter. Taka... He's goin' places, y'know? He doesn't need me holdin' him back. I'm a good for nothin' thug. 'M not goin' anywhere. Nowhere good, anyway."

At that, all three of Mondo's guests scoffed and talked over one another so loudly that he couldn't understand any of them. He shouted over them to talk _one at a time_. After looking at one another the group apparently decided to let Naegi do the talking.

"...Oowada-kun, literally nothing you just said is true. You're not holding him back, he's a hundred times better when he's with you!"

"Oh, yeah? _How?!_ "

Hagakure interjected before the luckster could continue.

"Dude, Ishimaru-chi is way more laid back thanks to you! Before you guys were such good friends, he was super uptight _all the time_. He didn't know how to joke around or have fun because he was too busy studying and bossing everybody around! But now, he's... He's... Help me out, guys!"

Naegi took the opportunity to take charge of the conversation again. "This is why you should let Naegi do the talking," Leon whispered.

(Mondo chuckled at hearing that. For all his arrogance and bragging, a certain snooty rich boy was also surprisingly fond of letting Naegi explain things for him.)

"Y-you, um... You gave him the support that I think he really needed, you know? The confidence to try and make friends. He's more comfortable being himself, and we can all see how _kind_ and how _smart_ and how _strong_ he is now. He's more than just the loud hall monitor."

Naegi's eyes bored right into Mondo's as he spoke. Mondo folded into himself somewhat, his face growing redder by the second. The smallest of the gathered young men took the silence as permission to elaborate.

"And, um, you... You _have_ to realize how much happier he is, right? He used to have that scowl all the time, and now it's almost like he can't stop smiling."

"Hell, he _looks_ better now that you can actually see the space between his eyebrows," Leon added. Hagakure and Naegi both shot him glares.

"...I happen to like those caterpillars, thank you very much," Mondo muttered.

"Jesus. It really _is_ bad." Leon reiterated his earlier point and rolled his eyes.

"Hey, they suit his face!" Hagakure argued. Mondo nodded at him, and the fortune-teller flashed him a thumbs up and yet another grin. Naegi laughed.

"See, you're already at that point where you like all the things about him that other people would consider flaws. That's how you know there's no turning back," Leon added. Everyone raised their eyebrows at him, and Leon threw up his hands. "What, I can't be deep?! I was just jokin' around about his eyebrows!"

"...'Kay, so let's say Taka's been happier lately. That still doesn't change the fact that I'm no good for him. I'm a goddamn gang leader, for christ's sake."

"Oh my _god_ , Oowada, have you seriously not even noticed?!" Leon thrust out his arms so quickly that he dropped his phone on the table with an awkward thud before scurrying to pick it back up.

"Noticed what?"

"You've been... You've been pretty well behaved lately. I mean, for _you_ , anyway. N-not to be rude, or anything." Naegi grinned sheepishly, and Mondo waved a casual hand at him. He _had_ punched Naegi in the face not long after their first meeting— not exactly the best first impression.

"You haven't even punched anybody in, like... In _months_ , I think! Not in school, anyway!" Hagakure exclaimed. Mondo glared at him.

"It's not like I went around fuckin' punching everybody in sight!"

"Well, no, of course not, but what I think Hagakure-kun is trying to say is that your temper has greatly improved. A few people have _really_ been pushing your buttons lately, and you've been the bigger person on more than a few occasions. If you were the same guy you were a year ago you would have started a fight by now," said Naegi.

"...What's your point?"

"My _point_ is that, like it or not, the two of you compliment one another. Ishimaru-kun isn't afraid of you, and he has high expectations of you. You can't push him around because he's just as stubborn as you are, and he won't tolerate that from you or from anyone else. I'm guessing that no one else has ever treated you that way, but Ishimaru-kun accepts you and sees you for who you _really_ are, and you're the same for him. You saw through his socially awkward exterior and saw what a great guy he is!"

Everyone fell silent and stared at Naegi, who had gotten uncharacteristically loud and wound up. His face flushed, and he avoided everyone's gazes in favor of looking down to study his own hands.

"U-um, I normally don't catch on to that sort of thing easily, but Kyouko-chan pointed it all out to me, and ever since then, well... It just makes sense, you know? The two of you. I know you would both be really happy, and that's what we all want for you. You're both wonderful friends to have."

Leon and Hagakure loudly voiced their agreement, the latter patting Naegi on the back.

"...How long has Kirigiri been studyin' us, anyway?" Mondo finally asked.

"At least three or four months. I'm not sure exactly."

"Well, shit. I didn't know she was so nosy."

"You'd be surprised."

There was a long silence during which Mondo stopped trying to hide the redness of his face. He figured there wasn't any point to it by now. His face probably matched Leon's hair in shade. That was when something else dawned on the biker.

"...Uh, you guys've still overlooked a small detail. Taka's a dude."

Silence.

"...Y'know, a guy? ...Guys don't normally like other guys!"

"Guys don't _usually_ like other guys. Ain't nothin' wrong with it," Leon corrected. Mondo scoffed at him.

"Okay, I _know_ that, I'm just sayin' that even if we would make a good couple or whatever, we still don't even know if he likes men. And... Somehow I feel like he wouldn't with how traditional he is about everything—"

"Oh, Ishimaru-chi is totally gay."

Everyone turned to face Hagakure, who looked as out of it as ever. Like he didn't realize what he had just said.

"...The hell did you just say, Hagakure?!" Mondo demanded.

"I— I said Ishimaru-chi is gay!"

"I heard ya, but where did ya get that idea?! I think he woulda told me somethin' like that!"

"The girls told me! Or, well, I overheard them talking about it and then they had to explain it to me and tell me not to tell anybody—"

"Who?!"

"Asahina-chi, Oogami-chi, Kirigiri-chi, Chihiro, Maizoni-chi—"

"Why doesn't Chihiro get a 'chi'?" Naegi asked somewhat absently.

"Duh, her name already starts with a 'chi'!"

"But you call everyone else by their last names—"

"The fuck kind of logic is that?!" Mondo roared, cutting off Naegi.

"Dude, it's _Hagakure!_ Just let it go!" Leon whined. "Anyway, why are they all saying he's gay?"

"Beats me. They all said they can just tell. It's apparently a 'girl thing' that I wouldn't understand," Hagakure said with a shrug.

"Well... Well, if _Kirigiri_ thinks so, then maybe..." Mondo began before trailing off and then shaking his head. "No, no, there's no way! He would have told me!"

"...W-well, maybe _he's_ not entirely aware of it. You know that that stuff can get pretty complicated, especially at our age," Naegi suggested. Mondo hummed deeply at that, his eyes focused on the ceiling fan above him as he thought.

Leon interrupted everyone's thoughts by slamming his hands down on the table.

"So, are we doin' this or what?"

Everyone looked to Mondo, who eventually shrugged and looked down.

"I already gave 'im the note. Not like I have much choice now."

The other boys clapped and cheered, and Naegi offered his friend a supportive pat on the back. Leon, however, stood and finally pressed the dial button on the screen of his phone. He'd apparently had a number waiting throughout the entire conversation.

"Wait, who the fuck are you calling?!"

Leon held up a finger to silence him before whisper-yelling his response.

"Look, if you're gonna win over Ishimaru you need to prove that you're a changed man, and that starts with your look! That hair isn't doing you any favors, man!"

Mondo reflexively reached up to touch his pompadour. On any other day, and under any other circumstances, he'd have been irrationally defensive of it. He'd never admit aloud that the main reason for this was the fact that his brother had always sported the same hairstyle.

He thought that maybe it was time to move on, to start letting go of some of his ghosts.

A year ago, he couldn't have done it. He couldn't have even _dreamed_ of it. But after all the time he had spent with Kiyotaka and the others— time during which he had even admitted to his kyoudai, his eyes full of tears, what had _really_ happened to Daiya— he had become _truly_ stronger.

Strong enough to change.

He lowered his hand from his hair and relented with a sigh.

"...Okay," he said quietly.   
  
_While we're at it, someone ought to cut Hagakure's hair,_ he did not say. 


	4. Mondo, Part 4

Mondo had never felt as much pain as he did when a certain pop star's metal brush tore through every knot in his hair. A bit melodramatic, yes, but something about the tugging at his scalp was excruciating.

Over the years of styling it the way he did, his hair had become heavily damaged by dyes, sprays, and gels. It wasn't an easy style to maintain, and he was now paying a hefty price. It had been decided that a portion of it was so damaged it would have to be cut off entirely.

"Shit, could you be any rougher?!" He whined.

Hagakure had him pinned to a chair. He had his arms wrapped around Mondo's and clasped in front of his chest to keep him from thrashing about. Leon and Naegi each sat on one of his feet to keep him from kicking. Behind the group, a small girl observed them with her phone held out in front of her, taking the occasional progress picture.

"It's all going to be worth it in the end, I promise! Maizono-san is going to show you how to do a few different styles, too, once she's done fixing the hair itself," the tiny girl said.

The idol in question smiled at that, pausing her torturous movements for a moment to take a step back and admire her handiwork. The pompadour had been raked out, and she was now in the process of correcting and relaxing Mondo's curls and removing the many thick knots.

"You're just lucky the damage is still fixable, Oowada-kun. You should really take better care of your hair! It's gotten terribly dry, and you have split ends everywhere!"

It was difficult to hear something like that from Saiyaka Maizono. Her hair was soft and shiny, and her skin was like porcelain— even someone like Mondo could see that she took good care of herself.

"I'm surprised Taka has never scolded you about it," the smaller girl added. Mondo snorted. Kiyotaka _was_ rather uptight about hygiene. His hair may have looked spiky, but it was incredibly soft to the touch and impeccably clean.

"That's just cuz I never let 'im touch it. He'd just about die if he knew. Say, Chi, do ya... Do _you_ think that he likes me? I mean, ya know—"

"I know what you mean," the girl interrupted. Chihiro Fujisaki was often the third person in a trio that included both Mondo and Kiyotaka. She knew the prefect better than anyone else in the room (with the exception of Mondo, of course). "And yes, I do believe that he does."

"Really?"

"Really. Now sit still, Maizono-san still isn't finished."

Maizono slathered some kind of lotion onto her hands and then stuck them in Mondo's hair, which at the moment was sticking out in every possible direction. She applied the mixture everywhere, and then started spraying his hair with a water bottle.

"Hey, if we're talkin' fashion, why didn't we ask Enoshima?" Leon asked obliviously. Everyone else in the room only shuddered at the thought.

"Because I wanna get a date with _Taka_ , not with fuckin' _death_ ," Mondo grumbled vaguely. Leon sighed, realizing he wasn't going to get a straight answer out of anyone.

Maizono tore through the last of the knots in Mondo's hair, which had been softened by the combination of the product and the water. He now had a damp multicolored mop of curls atop his head that fell past his eyes in front and well down his back (Mondo thanked the stars that Chihiro had thought to remove his jacket first, or it would be covered in stray hairs and water by now). Maizono wet the hair thoroughly and then pulled down on the ends. She stuck her tongue out a bit as she closely studied the damage.

"I think I can work with this. I'm going to start to cut it, okay? You'll look better when I'm finished, I promise. You have nice wavy hair, you know."

Mondo only grunted in response, and then he felt the first snip of the scissors right above the bridge of his nose. Maizono got to work quickly, as she seemed to have something in mind already. Behind her, Chihiro plugged in a razor and a hair dryer.

"I better not end up lookin' like some dork. I wanna get cleaned up a bit, but don't gimme a bowl cut or anything."

Maizono laughed.

"No, of course not. You'll still be able to pull off the biker look, it'll just be a little more grown up. You've got a really handsome face, but your look is always distracting from that."

"Uh... Thanks. I guess."

"Ooooh! Didja hear that, Oowada? Maizono thinks you're pretty!"

"Fuck off, Leon." Mondo kicked his foot slightly, just enough to jostle the redhead seated on it.

"Sit still," Chihiro warned. As shy as she was around most people, she could be very stern when she wanted to be. Mondo probably needed that. Between her and Kiyotaka, he really _had_ started to clean up his act. It was almost pitiful how little fear they held of him, how casually they would push his buttons and boss him around. Even more pitiful was how little he did about it.

There were several minutes of silence, the room filled only with the sounds of Maizono's scissors working through Mondo's hair.

"So how long have you liked boys?" She asked suddenly.

Mondo nearly choked on his own breath at that. He felt Hagakure chuckling against his back and shoved him with his shoulder.

"I— I dunno if I like _boys_ or not, I just... I jus' like _Taka_. That's all."

Maizono hummed in understanding, her face a bit pink.

"Well, answer me this. Of all those girls you asked out to get to your current losing streak... Did you really _like_ any of them? Can you even remember what they looked like?"

Mondo fell silent once more, his gaze fixed firmly on the razor behind his hairdresser.

_Wait, does everyone know about my goddamn losing streak?!_

"U-Um..." Once he had recovered from his embarrassment, he realized that he couldn't even _name_ a single one of the girls.

"See, that's what I thought. You just wanted a girlfriend because you're 'supposed' to have one; the girl didn't really matter."

Mondo was stunned. Maizono had somehow figured out something that even _he_ hadn't been aware of.

It was true. Daiya had always had a beautiful woman by his side, one that rode on the back of his motorcycle with him. Mondo had often been teased about the fact that he had no such _biker's bride_. After that, he'd gotten desperate to find one, but had managed to scare them all away with his habit of nervous yelling.

He'd never stopped to consider that maybe he had never liked girls in the first place.

"How— how did you do that?!"

"I'm psychic."

"What?!"

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding! I just have really good intuition."

Everyone else chuckled at what was apparently some kind of inside joke. Naegi explained that Maizono had tricked him the same way on many different occasions, and Mondo groaned.

_I can't believe I fell for that._

"...An' this intuition of yours says that Taka's gay? Hagakure said so."

"It most certainly does! And trust me, I'm never wrong about these things."

"I can't believe you haven't picked up on it," Chihiro teased. She was now all but affixed to Maizono's side, watching as Mondo's hair was removed in chunks.

"W-well, I kinda thought that maybe he was once or twice, but I... I figured that was wishful thinkin', y'know. Like I was just tryin' to make myself feel better."

The other boys hummed knowingly, and Leon patted his knee reassuringly. Chihiro made a sympathetic sort of _aww_  sound.

Before long (actually, she was almost impossibly fast), Maizono had finished cutting off Mondo's damaged hair and shaping it into something resembling a hairstyle. She took a razor to the back and the sides (only a trim), and then dried the remaining mop of blondish-brown hair, fluffing it with her hands as she did so. What he was left with was something like a fluffy mohawk. The boys seated on his feet and wrapped around his chest stepped back to admire Maizono's handiwork.

"Okay, I'll explain what we have here. With this style you still have plenty of volume on top, and it's still kind of edgy. If you want to, you can leave the bangs in your face, but you can also... do _this_." With her last word, Maizono ran a gel-covered hand through his messy bangs and slicked them back. She then messed with them a bit, leaving a few intentionally errant strands hanging down across his forehead. Mondo heard a collective bunch of _oohs_ and _ahs_.

"Well, would you look at that! _Sexy!_ "

"I'll fuckin' kill you, Leon."

"It _is_ really nice, though," Naegi said. Chihiro nodded her head in furious agreement.

"You should do Hagakure's next," Leon muttered.

"Hey, what's wrong with my hair?!" Hagakure stuck both of his hands in his mess of dreads as if protecting them from Leon's gaze.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Maizono chimed, and she took a small wipe and ran it across Mondo's eyes. The liner came up easily, and he blinked at her. For some reason, she looked confused.

"What?"

"You're... You're not wearing mascara?"

"Why would I be wearing mascara?!"

The other boys let out varying sounds of shock.

"Dude, you have some freakishly long eyelashes!" Hagakure finally exclaimed.

"Sh... Shut up! It runs in the family!"

Or at least, Daiya's had been similar. It's not like he had ever really known his parents, or anyone else in his family.

Mondo shook the thought from his head, and turned to find that Maizono and Chihiro were now rummaging through his dresser drawers and tossing clothes aside as they ruled them out. Chihiro found a pair of straight-legged dark wash jeans, and Maizono settled on a fitted grey t-shirt with a sloping v-neck and a normal, not-gang-related leather jacket.

"He can still wear the boots, right?" Chihiro wondered aloud.

"Yeah, they'll match with the jacket. The belt is fine, too. It's a nice personal touch."

Mondo folded his arms and glared at them.

_When did I turn into a fuckin' Barbie doll?_

Despite his protests, Mondo was forced into the bathroom, where he changed his clothes. As he changed, Maizono rattled off information about his new hairstyle at him through the the door, telling him how to dry it in the mornings and how to tie it back. When he finished changing and looked over his reflection in the wall-length mirror, he had to admit that he was impressed. He felt confident, but more importantly, he looked mildly presentable, like someone who _deserved_ Kiyotaka's affections.

He turned to see Maizono and Chihiro beaming up at him proudly, and he sighed, wrapping the two of them in a hug with his muscular arms.

"Thanks, guys," he whispered. The girls giggled, the sound muffled by his broad chest.

Just then he thought he heard another voice, and looked to the door to find that Naegi had opened it and was in the doorway talking to Kirigiri. She had appeared as silently and suddenly as ever, it seemed, and the two exchanged quick whispers. When she noticed Mondo staring, Kirigiri stood tall and locked eyes with him. Naegi immediately panicked and pushed her out, slamming the door in her face.

"What was that about?" Mondo asked, directing the question at Naegi.

"Uh, it was nothing! Say, um, did you have a plan for where to meet Ishimaru-kun to discuss the note?"

Mondo had half a mind to push the subject of the purple-clad detective further, but found himself distracted by Naegi's question. He actually hadn't thought of that.

"I was... I was just gonna stop by his dorm, I guess."  
  
The crowd voiced its disagreement, and then Naegi took Mondo by the arm, winking at Chihiro. Before Mondo could say anything to her, Chihiro fled the room.

Now that he took a moment to think about it, he hadn't actually seen Chihiro come in. She hadn't arrived with Maizono. She had appeared suddenly a little while after Maizono had started trying to untangle his hair. And now she had disappeared as silently as she had appeared, reminiscent of Kirigiri. And before he could voice _this_ concern, Maizono, too, ducked out, leaving him alone with the boys once again.

"...What the fuck is going on with—"

"Oh, I have a great idea! Come with us, Oowada-kun!" Naegi tugged at Mondo's arm, and the biker relented, allowing the trio to tug him along to a destination that everyone _but_ him apparently knew.


	5. Kiyotaka, Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note that we're jumping back in time a little bit. Could be alternately titled "Meanwhile..."

Kiyotaka's week had started out normally.

He and Mondo had studied together on Sunday evening. A year ago, it had been impossible to get Mondo to study, but after months of prodding from both him and Chihiro he had relented. His study habits still needed serious work, but the notorious troublemaker was beginning to realize that he _wasn't_ stupid, that he was as capable of learning as anyone else. He was impatient, but this, too, was improving.

He had watched the biker study, feeling oddly relieved. Mondo had been avoiding him recently. It had taken him a while to notice it, as he was socially oblivious and always assumed the best of other people, but after the fifth rejected invite he had started to suspect his friend's motives. He had been surprised when Mondo agreed to study with him, but had still hoped for the best. Mondo had shuffled into the room quietly, and he had dodged Kiyotaka's attempt to hug him.

Then, he'd apologized for his recent distance without so much as looking at him. Kiyotaka didn't know what to say to that.

To Kiyotaka's pleasant surprise, Mondo had studied in almost complete silence for a good two hours, only speaking to ask for help every once in a while. At around nine, he figured it was best they head their separate ways, as they both had school in the morning. That was when Mondo had started acting especially strange.

The look on his face had been perplexing. Mondo would not meet Kiyotaka's eyes, but the prefect could see the biker studying him whenever he focused his gaze elsewhere. Mondo had stood still near the doorway, his back oddly straight and his hands thrust in his pockets. Then he'd turned, his face beet-red, and started to say something.

"What was that, Kyoudai?"

"It was... I... Um... Nothin'! I'll see ya later!"

Then he'd disappeared, slamming the door before Kiyotaka could even manage a proper goodbye.

After that he'd seen little of Mondo. About halfway through the week he had tried to ask him what the reason for his absence was, and he'd screamed an obscenity before fleeing. At the same time, he had insisted he _wasn't_ upset with the prefect.

Up until now, this had left him very confused. Why would he act so distant if he wasn't upset with him?

Now, things were beginning to add up.

At the moment, Kiyotaka sat on his bed, hugging his knees. In front of him was only one object: a handwritten note. The question it posed was simple, and only had two possible answers.

Even so, it had been so sudden that it didn't seem _real_ , and he didn't know what to think or how to feel. His heart had not stopped pounding, and it had been nearly ten minutes since he read the message. It was quite disconcerting, and he wondered if he was ill.

As if in answer to his prayers, a knock sounded at his door, and he opened it to find someone who'd have no trouble deciphering anything.

"Kirigiri-san! What a pleasant surprise!"

The detective wasted no time in responding and barged past him, immediately seizing the note to study more closely.

"This isn't the same one as the one he passed you in math class."

Kiyotaka felt his face redden. Kirigiri certainly did like to get right down to business, and he mostly appreciated that, but he was shocked to learn that she had been paying such close attention.

"Was... Do you think that one was the same thing? I... I threw it away..."

"And that was a mistake. I'm certain it was the same thing. But it was crumpled, so he made you a new one. It's actually sort of pretty."

Kiyotaka hid his face in his hands while Kirigiri continued to study the note, and then she pulled out her phone and texted a few people.

"What does this _mean?_ What do I _do?_ Help me, Kirigiri-san!"

The prefect felt tears threatening to fall, but he wasn't sure why, and his voice was louder than he intended it to be. Kirigiri studied him for a moment before carefully folding the note and placing it on the low table near the corner of the room. When she had finished, she walked to Kiyotaka's side.

"You... You know that we're friends, right, Ishimaru-kun? You have lots of friends. And we want to help you. I'm not the best at talking about these kinds of things, but I _am_ observant, and I know what's going on here. I've called some other people to come to your aid, and I'll supervise and direct things from the outside."

Kiyotaka looked at her and blinked the water out of his eyes. Though his vision was blurry, he could see her smile gently at him. Her smile was still a bit awkward, as she wasn't terribly accustomed to doing it, but it was pure and sweet nonetheless. He took a moment to process what she had said and realized it to be true.

Kyouko Kirigiri was his friend, as were many of the other girls in his class.

The last year had brought him much closer to the women in his life than he'd ever thought he could be. He had never _disliked_ women, but had spent most of his life ignoring them in favor of attempting to befriend men. His father had drilled into his head that the bonds between men were far more important, and having never had a mother around, he was unaccustomed to women in general.

Then, along came Mondo, and, slightly later, Chihiro. With their encouragement, he began to open up more to his classmates, and started going out of his way to show kindness to them. The girls had reacted a bit strangely to this at first, perhaps suspecting that he had ulterior motives, but had then decided that they adored him. Now, when he wanted to discuss issues of the heart, he went to the girls.

His new group of female friends— _yes_ , they were his friends— included Kirigiri. Her quiet nature meant that she had always been observant, and she was quite good at picking up on things that people may not have noticed about themselves. It was only after she'd gotten involved with Naegi (not that either of them would admit there was anything going on) that she'd become so open about her observations, and she had started putting her skills to good use. One wouldn't guess by looking at her, but she was, in her own way, quite nosy.

 _Of course_ she would not simply stand by when Kiyotaka so clearly needed guidance. She wasn't the best at conveying her affections for people, but her actions spoke louder than her words ever could.

"Th-Thank you. You have no idea how much this means to me. If you do not mind my asking, how long have you been observing kyoudai and I?"

"Since the two of you became friends, actually. I've always know you were nice, and I was happy to see you make friends. I've been paying special attention to Mondo ever since... I wanted to make sure he was behaving himself around you."

Kiyotaka gulped. He was afraid to ask his next question, but if Kirigiri could give him an answer he had no choice but to swallow the fear.

"When... When did Mondo's feelings allegedly change?"

Kirigiri chuckled.

"There's no 'allegedly' about it, Ishimaru-kun. Oowada-kun _likes_ you, and he likes you _very much_. I think he's always _liked_ you at least a little bit— since you became friends, anyway— but it started to become especially noticeable about four months ago. He tried to ignore it for a while, but the last two weeks have been very difficult for him. It's why he has been so distant with you."

"And have you spoken with him about this at all?"

"Only briefly, and he would not give me any answers. I was able to decipher from his body language that he is very nervous about the outcome."

Kiyotaka nodded. Kirigiri hadn't said anything especially surprising to him. She had only confirmed the suspicions he'd formed since receiving the note. Since the prefect had never had friends before Mondo, he hadn't been entirely sure what friendship was supposed to look like, but he'd always felt somehow that Mondo acted a bit differently than most friends did. Befriending the girls and his other classmates had only helped to clarify this for him.

"...So then, this note... When he says _will you go out with me_ , he means—"

"That he wants to be _more_ than friends, yes. He would like for you to be his boyfriend. It's not all that different from being friends. You would still spend time together, and be able to talk and have fun, but you would develop a special relationship and probably share more kinds of affection."

Kiyotaka felt his face redden at the thought of what Kirigiri meant when she said _kinds of affection_ , but shook the thought out of his head. He had mostly regained his composure now. Talking this through with someone as level-headed as Kirigiri, and knowing that help was on the way, had calmed him greatly.

"Well, I should be going. I have some other work to do if everything is to run smoothly. Let the others in when you next hear a knock at your door, okay?"

"Okay. Thank you for helping me, Kirigiri-san!"

Kiyotaka forced his strongest smile and gave the detective one of his signature salutes. Kirigiri nodded at him and moved to the door. She paused, her hand halfway through turning the doorknob, and looked in the prefect's direction.   
  
"Can you promise me one more thing?"

"Yes? What is it?"

"Do what makes you happy."

With that vague command, Kirigiri exited the room, leaving Kiyotaka alone with his racing thoughts and equally quick heartbeat once more.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One of my favorite things to imagine is Taka's girl squad— his group of super-protective and super-supportive female friends who love him because they can tell he's a sweet gay dork. I hope others find the idea as cute as I do, and that I convince some people to see the light. JOIN TEAM TAKA'S GIRL SQUAD.
> 
> To be clear, his girl squad is usually Asahina, Sakura, and Chihiro (everyone still thinks he's a girl, and I should note that I love all the various interpretations of Chihiro's gender identity), but Maizono and Kirigiri like him a lot and hang out with them too. When Mondo's not with Taka and/or Chihiro, he's with Leon and usually Hagakure, and also sometimes Naegi. Everyone has friend circles that overlap, but the class gets along as a whole!


	6. Kiyotaka, Part 2

"Taka-kun! Taka-kun! We're here, open the door!"

Kiyotaka sprang back to life. He'd been slumped over on the edge of his bed, his head in his hands. He ran to the door and threw it open, and Aoi Asahina fell forward onto him, nearly knocking him over.

"Taka-kun, it's gonna be okay. It's gonna be okay. _It's gonna be okay!_ "

Asahina had grabbed his shoulders and started shaking him a bit harder than she'd probably intended to, and Kiyotaka felt his panic rise further.

"I appreciate your attempt to help, Asahina-chan, but _you're_ stressing me out more than anything else right now!"

Asahina's companion squeezed her way into the room and put a hand on the swimmer's shoulder.

"He is correct, Aoi. You must settle down if you want to help him."

Aoi looked at her friend, and then frowned and backed away from Kiyotaka. She did a sort of apologetic bow.

"Y-you're right, Sakura. I'm sorry for scaring you, Taka-kun, I'm just really excited and I guess I sort of mimicked the energy I was getting from you!"

The prefect took a moment to blink at that, and then looked properly at Sakura. She towered over the two of them, and the room's harsh light caused her to cast a dramatic shadow over her smaller friend.

Asahina and Sakura were an inseparable duo. They balanced one another out quite well. Sakura had been central in making everyone realize that while she could be a bit air-headed from time to time, Asahina was _not_ stupid. Asahina had convinced everyone that Sakura was no one to be feared, that she was as kind and tender as any teenage girl could be. Kiyotaka held an immense amount of respect for them both. They were the first ones he went to when he had any questions about his friendship with Mondo, as they were such a stellar example of what a friendship should be.

"Ishimaru-san. We were sent by Kirigiri-san, who informed us of what has taken place. We were told you needed comfort and advice. May I see this note I have heard so much about?" Sakura asked.

For someone so beefy, Sakura was always shockingly well-mannered. Kiyotaka had always gotten a chuckle out of that. People liked to call her offensive names because of her relatively masculine appearance, but she was more ladylike than just about any other girl he knew.

"Of course you may, it's right here." He handed her the note, and she hummed a low note and nodded her head as she read it.

"How childish. That's... Actually quite cute. Not exactly what I would have expected from someone like him, but I of all people should know not to judge others by their appearances."

After she had placed the note back on the nightstand, Sakura placed a hand on Kiyotaka's back and guided him to his bed, where he sat down with one of the girls on either side of him. Sakura weighed significantly more than Aoi did, so the bed tilted in such a way that he was nearly falling onto Sakura, but he paid it no mind. She always seemed to adjust her weight so that she was only half-sitting to remedy this sort of problem, anyway, and she did so after a couple moments of awkward shuffling.

"So why are you upset, Taka-kun? Talk to us!"

"I-I'm not _upset_ , merely overwhelmed. I just couldn't believe it at first. It didn't seem real, so I had Kirigiri-chan clarify things for me as best she could. Now I know it's the truth," he explained. He clutched his pillow to his chest and felt tears welling up in his eyes already.

He wasn't upset. He had no reason to be. He would not, _could not_ deny that his heart raced whenever he saw his kyoudai approaching him, or that whenever he dreamed about the future Mondo was always by his side through it all. Mondo was his first friend, and he had become his first love. There was no denying this.

Every time Mondo laughed, Kiyotaka wanted to hug him, or to hold his hand, or to maybe tickle him or something so he would keep on laughing (but the prefect was sure the biker wouldn't appreciate the latter). Every time he smiled, smiled that strangely devious smirk directly at him, he felt like his stomach twisted. _Butterflies_ , people called it, which made the sensation sound much more pleasant than it was.

"Allow me to be blunt for a moment, Ishimaru-san. We are all aware of your feelings for Oowada-san. In fact, we are amazed that Oowada-san himself has not yet realized," Sakura said. Kiyotaka shook his head to refocus on what was happening, as his thoughts were quickly getting disorganized. That always happened when he thought too long about his biker friend.

Kiyotaka felt a pang of regret once he processed what Sakura had said. He thought he'd been subtle, but he always had expressed himself too plainly. Normally, he considered this a boon. No one had ever accused him of being dishonest or manipulative. But it could sometimes hurt to wear one's heart on one's sleeve.

"And vice-versa," Asahina added to Sakura's point. Sakura nodded. "But y'know, I guess it makes sense in the end. You guys are both so crazy about each other that you both think the other is, like, the greatest guy on the face of the earth. I'm sure both of you have thought things like _I'm not good enough for him_ , or _There's no way he would like someone like me, he could have someone better!_ Am I right, or am I right?"

Besides her having missed the fact that Kiyotaka had never even suspected that Mondo could like another boy, she was, in fact, _right_ , and he blushed.

He had spent months pining after his friend. Months of avoiding glances for fear of blushing, months of having to build up his courage to touch or to hug him for fear that his racing heart would give him away or that he wouldn't have the strength of will to let go. He knew the ache in his heart like the back of his hand by now. It had become a regular part of his routine, something he had become accustomed to ignoring in an effort to continue being a good friend to Mondo.

To be faced with the knowledge that Mondo had felt the same way the entire time was shocking to say the least, and even as he said it to himself again and knew it to be a fact, he still could not believe it.

"It's literally incomprehensible to me that kyoudai had been feeling the same way," he mumbled. Asahina giggled.

"So you're admitting it, then?" Sakura asked, and Kiyotaka felt his face flush further.

"I-Is there any point in denying it? _Of course_ I love him. He means the world to me. I love him more than anything." He glared as he said this, almost like he was arguing against someone who was trying to tell him that his feelings were just a passing crush. It was like being forced to admit it made him that much more sure.

Asahina cooed in happiness and excitement and threw an arm around his shoulder. Sakura smiled, sweetly and genuinely, and placed a hand over her heart. Girls always made the strangest screeching sounds when they were excited about the potential of romance, Kiyotaka noticed.

"So then why are you sitting here and crying about it? Check off the yes box and get yourself the man you've rightfully earned!" Asahina encouraged, making a gesture that was something like finger guns. Kiyotaka gulped.

"I would like to, trust me. More than anything else in the world. But I..." He trailed off, losing himself to his thoughts once again.

Sakura reached forward to squeeze one of his hands, and she gave him a strangely knowing smile.

"To love someone is a very frightening thing, and to have them feel the same way is perhaps scarier still. As soon as you have that love you admit that you have a great deal to lose," she said. Kiyotaka could no longer hold back his tears at that remark.

"I'm afraid, Oogami-chan. _So very afraid_. I don't want to ruin everything, I don't know the first thing about being a good boyfriend! I hardly even know how to have friends," Kiyotaka squeaked.

"It probably would have been best for Mondo-kun to confront you more directly, huh? You always overthink these things," Asahina wondered aloud.

"It is not true that you don't know how to have friends. You make a most wonderful companion," Sakura insisted, squeezing his hand. Since she didn't know her own strength, this always hurt a bit, but it was reassuring nonetheless. Kiyotaka guessed it was because he could tell she meant it, at least.

"I second that," another voice interjected. This voice was smaller, quieter. Kiyotaka felt his head snap up and his eyes widen.

"Chi," he breathed through a sob as the tiny girl ran up to embrace him.

"I'm sorry I'm a little late to the party, but I won't stand for you beating yourself up! You may not understand all of the arbitrary social cues people follow, but what's really important comes easily to you. You make it look _so easy_ to care about people, Taka."

Chihiro pulled him into another hug, a bit more firmly this time, and patted his back. She looked like she was about to cry herself.

Chihiro was a wonderful friend indeed. At the beginning of the previous year, she had been quiet as a mouse, completely isolated from the others. It was Mondo who had befriended her first. He felt a need to protect people like her, and he'd insisted on doing so when he found a group of older boys trying to steal her laptop from her. After that she'd started to trail after Mondo, and Kiyotaka got to know her then.

To their surprise, Chihiro had sat the two of them down one day to scold them. "I don't need you to protect me," she had said. "I want to learn to protect myself, and all I want from you two is love and support." Kiyotaka had thought that was the bravest thing he'd ever heard anyone say.

Chihiro was kind. Too kind for this world, even. She was smart, too, and could be quite firm when she needed to be. All it had taken for her to come into her real self was a bit of support, and after a year of friendship, she'd shed most of her exterior anxiety and grown to like who she was. She was still a bit too timid from time to time, but she no longer needed to be shielded.

Now, she was here to give reassurance, as she always did when it was needed. She always insisted that Mondo and Kiyotaka owed her nothing in return, as she was merely repaying their initial kindness.

"So anyways, what are you still hiding away for? Go on and say yes!" She chirped. She had her hands curled into fists by her chest, and her eyebrows were slanted down like she was angry, but tears threatened to fall from her big hazel eyes.

"But I'm _scared_ , Chi! What we have is so important to me, I do not know that I could bear to lose it. I don't want to ruin our friendship," Kiyotaka explained, clutching his pillow tighter. Chihiro groaned and put her hands on her hips, suddenly much less emotional and a lot more annoyed.

" _You don't have to!_ You know what my parents are always saying, why they're so happy together? They're each other's best friends. That's really important in a relationship, that you can just enjoy each other's company and laugh together. You two already have that part down," Chihiro argued. "I can understand why you're scared, but there has to be something else. What's _really_ bothering you? Deep down inside?"

Kiyotaka flinched like someone had hit him and looked away. He consciously chose to focus only on the first half of what Chihiro had said, and it did not go unnoticed, but it was allowed for the moment. Sakura exchanged a glance with Asahina, who nodded, and they both kept their mouths shut.

"...Do you think we could still be friends even if I messed things up? If we were to break up?"

"Hey, maybe Mondo-kun would be the one to mess it up. You never know," Asahina teased. The joke was not appreciated.

"Just don't break up, then," Chihiro said through a shrug, and Kiyotaka threw up his hands.

"If it were that simple, I would surely choose not to do so, but things happen! Relationships... They're complicated!"

" _Yours_ isn't! And, hey, love is more than just a mushy feeling or a physical attraction. It's also a _decision_. It's two people _deciding_ they'll continue to love each other even when they fight and they don't _like_ each other very much. You're both stubborn, _really stubborn!_ I know you can fight through the hard stuff!"

 _When did you get to be so mature?_ Kiyotaka wondered. When they'd first met, she'd been too embarrassed to even breach the subject of romance. Now, she sounded like a marriage counselor.

Kiyotaka considered everything she had said, but more than that he considered the certainty behind her words, hers and everyone else's. Everyone truly believed that Mondo loved him, and that they should be together, and that they could make it as a couple. And if they all believed this so strongly, there _had_ to be some merit to it, right?

It was at least worth trying.

"Okay," Kiyotaka choked out, releasing his pillow and allowing it to fall to the floor. Everyone perked up, waiting for him to continue. "Okay, I'll do it. ...I'll say yes."

A sudden chorus of high-pitched, girlish screams pierced the still air, even from Sakura. Another thing Kiyotaka had noticed about girls was that when they were happy, they liked to hold your hands in their own and jump up and down. He'd found this ritual dance strange at first, but had grown to like it over time. It was an effective way to celebrate while burning off some reckless energy, and all while maintaining excitement. He allowed Asahina to take his hands and dance about the room with him.

He had to admit that he kind of liked being treated like "one of the girls", even if it was only for brief moments like this one. It made him feel incredibly loved.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> JOIN TEAM TAKA'S GIRL SQUAD
> 
> Also Kiyotaka Ishimaru is a precious cinnamon roll that must be protected at all costs and Sakura Oogami is best girl. FIGHT ME. 
> 
> (One of my favorite things about the fandom is the defense of Sakura. Every time I see a comment like "ugh why is she so beefy and ugly she looks like a man ew" I also see like fifty responses of "SAKURA IS FUCKING BEAUTIFUL YOU UNCULTURED SWINE")


	7. Kiyotaka, Part 3

"Oh, you're here, Sayaka-chan! Come on in!"

Asahina ushered the pop star into Kiyotaka's room. The prefect in question was now at his desk, and Sakura leaned over him, careful to stand such a distance away that she didn't cast an enormous shadow over his work.

Asahina had always found it odd that he had a desk as well as the table already provided by the school, but he had said something about being seated so low to the ground and bending over being bad for the back. He used the table for study groups and large projects, but always did his homework at his desk. She walked to his side and heard Maizono following after her, and noticed Chihiro sitting on the bed and texting someone.

"Whatcha doin' there, Taka-kun?"

"It has to be perfect," he responded, though she still didn't know what he was talking about. She looked quizzically at Sakura, who shook her head and sighed.

"He is checking off the 'yes' box on the note."

"But he's been sitting there for, like, five minutes."

"Precisely. He says the check mark has to be perfect."

"But— Taka-kun, that's ridiculous!"

"I tried telling him that."

"You two just don't understand. Kyoudai has _very messy_ handwriting! It must have taken him a long time to make such a pretty note!"

Kiyotaka gestured at the paper after he'd leaned back to allow everyone to see it. It was pretty, they had to admit. Mondo had apparently found some pale yellow paper, and had drawn some kind of swirly border along the edges and corners. That, and it was legible.

"How did you even know it was from him?" Maizono murmured. Kiyotaka responded by sliding the note upwards a bit more and pointing at the bottom corner, where there was a small doodle of a fluffy dog's face.

"He draws it on his homework all the time," he hummed.

The more Asahina looked at the note, the more she felt the urge to laugh, and she eventually gave way to a fit of giggles. It was too hard to picture— Mondo always sported boots and a leather jacket, and his hands were big and tanned and calloused. Imagining him hunched over his desk and doodling a puppy on a confessional note was just too much, and her giggles eventually spread to everyone, thankfully including Kiyotaka.

The girls indulged him and allowed him a couple more moments to finish his perfect check mark, and he then carefully refolded the note. He moved to put it in his pocket, and then stopped.

"Wait, what are we doing? Kirigiri-chan said she had something planned, so I'm sure I will not be simply stopping by his dorm to hand this to him. And if we are to meet someplace else, maybe I shouldn't be wearing my uniform."

At this, the girls near the desk squealed and Chihiro giggled. She had always found it amusing that he wore his uniform nearly all the time, and she often made strange remarks about his boots (Kiyotaka still didn't understand what was wrong with them).

"Oh, I _knew_ you'd wanna get dolled up! That's why I called Sayaka-chan here, she's great with all that stuff. If there's anything you want her to help you with, she can do it." Asahina gestured dramatically at Maizono, who responded with a bow.

Everyone took their seats around the low table, and Maizono was filled in about everything that had happened. She clicked her tongue and patted Kiyotaka on the head, taking a moment to feel his hair.

"I think your hair is just fine. I'm not sure you need anything done! You take good care of your skin and everything. It's rare to meet a boy with such good hygiene."

Kiyotaka opened his mouth to say something, then furrowed his brow and closed it again. Chihiro leaned in.

"What is it, Taka?"

"...If I can be entirely honest, I am mostly comfortable with my appearance, but there is one thing I'm self-conscious about." He looked pleadingly at Maizono, and then he lifted a hand to point directly at his brow.

"...Your eyebrows? Taka, Mondo likes you just the way you are. You don't have to change anything if you don't want to," Chihiro pleaded. She looked a bit worried.

"I second that," Sakura said softly, patting his shoulder. He smiled at her, but shook his head.

"I understand that much, but this is something that would help me feel a little bit better. A confidence booster, if you will."

Maizono nodded. She'd seen younger pictures of Kiyotaka, and his eyebrows hadn't always been _quite_ as thick as they were now. She had an idea of what to do— she'd give him a slight touch-up just to boost his confidence, but she wouldn't do anything drastic. They were a major part of him, after all. A Kiyotaka without bushy eyebrows wouldn't look much like Kiyotaka at all.

"Well, take a seat at your desk chair and I'll see what I can do," she said, and Kiyotaka beamed.

Kiyotaka really hadn't ever concerned himself too much with people's looks. They faded, after all, and were rarely the important thing in the end. Of course he appreciated attractive people, as everyone did, but he didn't fawn over them like others did. Oftentimes, a pretty face concealed an ugly heart.

That said, he really did find Mondo incredibly handsome. The hair was distracting, as was his overall dress and the eyeliner. But he'd seen him without those things, in his natural state when he wasn't trying to impress or intimidate anyone. And at that point, he'd realized his friend was _gorgeous_. He knew that after all the effort Mondo had put into the note, he'd probably try his best to look presentable, and it was the least he could do to try and do the same.

"T-Thank you," he stammered, and Maizono smiled at him.

As he sat down and Maizono looked over his face, he noticed Chihiro still looking strangely at him and looking at her phone every once in a while. He felt like she was hiding something from him, and that was unlike her.

"Chi, is something bothering you? You can tell me," he called out. Chihiro jumped, and her expression betrayed that she felt she'd been 'caught in the act', but she shook her head.

Maizono disappeared for a moment to go to Kiyotaka's bathroom, and for some reason Sakura and Asahina followed her. They whispered to one another for a minute or two before Maizono returned with a washcloth and some tweezers.

"It helps me to wet the brow and shape it first, that way I know exactly what I'm doing. The cold water also helps lower the redness afterwards," she explained as she dabbed his face with it. He gulped as he saw the tweezers.

"I've never taken tweezers to my eyebrows before, so I know it's going to hurt. I think it is best that you just do it as quickly as possible! Don't mind me if I cry or scream!"

Maizono actually withdrew at that and raised her eyebrows. She'd always noticed that Kiyotaka had a... Slightly _masochistic_ streak? She didn't know exactly what to call it, but he sometimes asked to be hit if he did something wrong. It was truly jarring and bizarre. She sighed.

"I'm not going to take off _that_ much! And I'll be gentle, I promise. It'll be over before you know it." Maizono didn't worry too much. Kiyotaka seemed to have a pretty high threshold for pain, but it could simply be that he was too stubborn to admit when something hurt.

Maizono took the tweezers to his face, and he stiffened his shoulders, but remained still. As she began to pluck, he bit his lip, and she figured it would be best to distract him.

"So how long have you liked him?"

Kiyotaka hummed at that, the long and drawn-out sound he made when he was thinking.

"I'm not entirely sure. I know it has been a long time, though. It started sometime during our first year."

It had been barely three months since they had started their new year, but that still seemed a long while to hide something. Maizono shook her head sympathetically.

"Boys can be so silly. You should have simply said something to him!"

"I— I didn't think he liked boys!"

"Sometimes it's not about whether someone is a boy or a girl. Sometimes a person is just a person, and you're special enough to him that it shouldn't matter."

"...I suppose," Kiyotaka said mostly to himself. His face was turning red now, and it seemed he was so embarrassed he wasn't actually focusing on the pain. Maizono guessed that was a _kind_ of success.

The pain returned before long, and Kiyotaka squeezed his eyes shut and whimpered every once in a while, but he kept tears from falling. When Maizono had finished, she ruffled his hair as she took the cold washcloth to the redness.

"There you are. You still look like _you_ , but it's a bit more _focused_ now. It really brings out those pretty eyes of yours."

Kiyotaka smiled awkwardly, and the other girls gathered around to observe him. They made various sounds of agreement and surprise.

"That's quite nice, actually. I was worried for a moment that you would he rendered unrecognizable," Sakura breathed as she took it all in.

"I'm a bit jealous! So many people think thick eyebrows are bad, but they lend themselves to a nice strong shape. Me, I have to pencil mine in!" Asahina put her hands on her hips and pouted. Kiyotaka blinked at her questioningly.

"Girls seem to know an awful lot about eyebrows. Is this not considered, er, _cheating?_ "

Sakura and Maizono chuckled, and Asahina scoffed. Chihiro giggled somewhat nervously.

"No, of course not! Most girls do _at least_ this much. You wouldn't believe what Sayaka and I would look like without our hair and makeup routines! People don't just _wake up_ this gorgeous. ...Except for Sakura, of course," Asahina explained. She playfully shoved the larger girl. Sakura flipped her hair over one shoulder and grinned.

" _My_ beauty is mostly natural, as I do not wear any makeup, but even I put special effort into taking care of my skin and hair."

Kiyotaka nodded along as they explained. He had never known that the pursuit of beauty was so complicated, and he felt a pang of sympathy for the pressure many young girls likely felt to conform to such a high standard. But he did not know how to put this into words, and so he didn't.

"Now that that's done, what are we gonna dress you up in?" Maizono asked, her tone cheery as she clapped her hands together. Almost the moment she did, her phone vibrated, and she pulled it out of her pocket to glance at the screen. She frowned and chose to ignore it, hitting the rEd dismissal button. It was apparently a call rather than a text message.

"He has all these really cute sweaters, but what color is best? Do we have any idea what Mondo-kun likes?"

"From what I've sensed, he seems to find Ishimaru-kun especially cute in nerdy clothes," Maizono thought aloud. "Maybe because they suit him so well?"

Asahina giggled as she pulled clothes out of the dresser drawers and laid them on the bed. Sakura quietly sorted her friend's haphazard piles into neat stacks divided by article of clothing.

"You can't wear your boots, though. Do you have any other shoes?" Chihiro asked, and Kiyotaka glared and crossed his arms.

"I still don't understand what's wrong with my boots!"

Chihiro, as always, ignored his confusion on the subject, and he eventually sighed and pointed at the space underneath the dresser. Chihiro knelt down to pull out a few pairs of dress shoes, a pair of slip-ons, and a pair of somewhat tattered sneakers.

"...When was the last time you got new shoes, Taka?"

"Oh, not in quite a while. Shoes are terribly expensive these days."

"I guess we'll have to make due with one of these, then. Mondo isn't terribly detail-oriented, so he probably won't notice anyway."

He heard Maizono sigh as her phone vibrated again, and this time she picked it up and headed to the bathroom for a moment of privacy. _Everyone's been using their phones an awful lot_ , Kiyotaka noticed. When Maizono returned, her expression had changed, and she bowed apologetically.

"I hate to leave before I get to see you in your cute confessional outfit, but I'm needed elsewhere." She stood up straight to look Asahina in the eye. "That was Leon," she said emphatically, and Asahina nodded in understanding. Kiyotaka didn't know what was going on, and didn't ask.

Maizono left the room, and a moment or two later Asahina started talking loudly as if in an effort to distract him. He joined the girls as they looked through his clothes and narrowed down options, options which were _apparently_ very limited by his small selection of shoes. He didn't understand why it mattered, but he did think it was important to match and look presentable, so he let them lead the way.

Several minutes passed. Chihiro had just held up a golden-y caramel-colored sweater vest and smiled when her phone vibrated in her pocket. She carefully placed the sweater down and pulled out her phone, and she instantly turned a bit pink. Suddenly she was doing the same bow that Maizono had done earlier.

"I-I have to go, Maizono-san wants my help with things." The tiny girl scurried away before Kiyotaka had a chance to ask for clarification, and then he felt Sakura's hands on his shoulders turning him to face her. Asahina shoved an outfit into his arms, one that included the sweater Chihiro had liked, and then pushed him towards the bathroom.

"Well, go ahead, try it on! We'll be waiting!"

Kiyotaka sighed as he changed, but perked up when he saw his reflection in the wall-length mirror, and Asahina and Sakura voiced their approval in the form of clapping their hands. He wore a white-button up and brown slacks with the sweater vest, and the clothes were cut in a such a way that he felt they flattered his figure. He did a little spin, and Asahina giggled.

"So where did Maizono-chan and Chi run off to so quickly? I saw the two of you whispering to—"

"So what are we going to do about some accessories? And we have to make sure your shoes match!"

Kiyotaka frowned. Apparently both girls knew exactly what was going on, but had no intentions of telling him just yet. He couldn't be mad, as he was sure they had their reasons. He thought back to what Kirigiri had said about keeping things running smoothly. Were they assisting Mondo somehow? The biker probably needed just as much help as the prefect did.

Kiyotaka smiled and nodded his head. He didn't know exactly what they were planning, but he'd go along with it for now. It was nice to know that he wasn't alone.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Taka you can't wear your dominatrix boots with everything)
> 
> Don't worry, Taka doesn't look that different post-grooming. The idea is supposed to reflect how he gradually became more "attractive" in the official art. In his sprites, his eyebrows have pointy edges that occasionally go past his hairline, and the anime depicts him like that. But even at points in the anime, his eyebrows become simple squarish shapes and lose the pointy edge.
> 
> In the official art, Taka eventually loses the pointy corners, and his expression softens so the space between his brows is much wider, and then he looks downright adorable! All Maizono did is exactly what the official art did. (His eyes also got less crazy. In some sprites and the anime he has that weird target-looking thing going, and in later images they're just red.)
> 
> Also it is an actual headcanon of mine that Mondo doodles fluffy dogs on things. Mondo, because of his adrenaline junkie nature, seems like he'd be a chronic doodler/fidgeter when trapped inside (I am myself because ADD + nervousness). Every doodler has a few specific things that they do, be it a pattern or bubble letters or whatever. Mondo doodles dogs, and probably motorcycles.


	8. Converging Destinies

"Okay, I'm losin' it over here. Where are we fuckin' headed?!"

Naegi only chuckled, and Leon and Hagakure pretended that they hadn't heard the question. Mondo repeated himself, louder this time, and Naegi was forced to turn around. The other boys continued walking for a moment before realizing they'd stopped, and then awkwardly shuffled backwards.

"We're headed to the park! The center of it is really nice. There's a fountain, and hedges, and you can see the cherry blossoms from there. The petals floating in the wind... It's as nice place to do this as any," he explained. He wasn't wrong, but he seemed to have come up with the idea oddly suddenly. Mondo frowned at him.

"And you just came up with that yourself? Just now?"

"U-uh, yeah! I've been there a few times. I know how to get there and everything."

Mondo still wasn't entirely convinced, but the idea was a good one, so he shrugged and continued walking.

Naegi apparently did know the route well, as the park was within their sights before ten minutes had passed. It wasn't huge, but it wasn't small, either. There were benches scattered around the outside, and a couple of small ponds where children threw breadcrumbs at ducks. A large portion of the grass was taken up by the cherry blossom trees. Mondo noted that most of the parks guests, as few as there were, had petals stuck to their hair and clothes.

As they walked underneath the archway that marked the park's entrance, Leon punched Mondo in the arm. He glared at him and rubbed the spot. Leon was never aware of his own strength, but being a talented baseball player, his arms were ridiculously muscular. His punches always stung.

"What?!"

"Didja see that?! Those girls over there!"

"What about 'em?!"

"They were checkin' you out, man!"

Mondo glanced over at the group of girls, and they giggled. He groaned and rolled his eyes before continuing to walk.

"Great, that's just great. Get girls to notice me right after I've realized I'm not even fuckin' interested," he grumbled. Hagakure apparently found this hilarious.

"That's a cruel irony, dude!"

Mondo sighed, and the other boys continued to chuckle. He stayed on the path and followed Naegi. Leon and Hagakure continued to chat amongst themselves— Leon, apparently, was beginning to manage to get Hagakure into baseball, and the fortune teller still had a lot of questions about how things worked.

Up until recently Leon had claimed he hated baseball, and he still insisted he didn't like practice. But being away from the sport for so long made him realize he missed it, so he had joined Hope's Peak's team. He also loved music, however, and was learning from a certain pop star how to play guitar and the basics of singing. He'd been much happier (and less obnoxious) since making this change, and he'd become a generally pleasant person to be around.

It seemed that Hope's Peak had changed everybody to some degree, and Mondo couldn't help but crack a smile as he thought back to what everyone had been like before. He was curious as to what else would change.

Suddenly Naegi stopped, and the others halted with him. Mondo looked around. They were in a circular paved area surrounded by hedges, the continuous line of foliage only broken every so often to make space for an antique-looking lamppost. The ground was dusted lightly with cherry blossom petals, and more petals floated in the water of the large fountain in the very center. It was lovely, and with the sun beginning to set in the background, it was downright romantic. Mondo looked around, and then looked at Naegi and nodded.

"You're right, this is... It's nice. Ya did good, kid." He pulled Naegi close to him and pinned his head under one arm, using his other hand to forcefully ruffle his hair. Naegi no longer struggled to get away, as he'd been forced to get used to it.

The bushes rustled, and Mondo felt his head snap up. Everyone else seemed to have expected it. A girl emerged from one of the gaps between the hedges. The bushes were thick enough that she'd been able to completely conceal herself behind them.

"God dammit, Kirigiri. I shoulda known it was you," Mondo groaned as he released Naegi. The luckster went to stand beside the lavender-eyed girl and sheepishly scratched the back of his neck.

"Oowada-kun. Maizono-chan did a nice job with you."

"You knew about that? No, you know what, don't answer that. _Of course_ ya knew about it."

Mondo reflected on the day's events in his mind, and realized Kirigiri had been the mastermind behind everything. He already knew that she'd sent him Naegi, Leon, and Hagakure. Leon had summoned Maizono, and Kirigiri had likely explained the situation to her beforehand, or had her waiting in the wings. Someone had sent Chihiro to his room, as she had showed up alone. And last but not least, Kirigiri had decided on this location and commanded the boys to bring him here, where she had patiently waited to put her plan into action.

It was meddlesome, and a bit obnoxious, but he couldn't pretend he wasn't grateful. Mondo sighed and pulled Kirigiri into a quick and awkward hug, and he swore he heard her snicker under her breath.

She disappeared behind the hedges for another moment, and then reappeared with a bouquet of flowers. Lilacs and lilies, to be specific.

"I thought roses would be a bit much for a confession, and they're overdone as it is. I feel this suits Ishimaru-kun better."

"Uh, thanks." He took the bouquet and inspected it. He wondered if it was a bit much to give a guy, but figured none of those rules really mattered at the moment.

"Hide them behind your back until he gets used to seeing you. You don't want to overwhelm him too quickly, after all."

"Does he know we're here?" Mondo asked, and no one answered him. He tried crossing his arms, but it wasn't very intimidating with the bouquet. Kirigiri ignored him in favor of standing on her toes to fix his bangs a bit. She still had something else up her sleeve.

Before he could ask any more questions, the detective retreated to the safety of the hedges once more, and Mondo heard her hiss something at Naegi.

"So we're just gonna wait and make sure everything goes smoothly. We'll be right there in those bushes— think of it as moral support!" Then Naegi, too, was gone, and Leon and Hagakure followed suit. The bushes rustled for a moment, and then the noise settled, and Mondo felt like he was alone.

He didn't have time to tell them he didn't want to be watched, just in case everything crashed and burned. He blushed. They'd done so much to help— maybe they'd earned the right to watch.

Mondo hid the bouquet behind his back, took a moment to collect himself, and waited.

 

* * *

 

Asahina and Sakura stayed with Kiyotaka for a few minutes after dressing him up, and then they scurried away, saying something about being needed elsewhere. He'd frowned at the silence, as he wasn't even sure what Kirigiri had planned, and then he heard a quiet rap at his door.

He opened it to find Chihiro waiting for him, and she shyly took his hand.

"I'm going to walk you to the park, okay? Everyone is waiting!"

Kiyotaka excitedly agreed, and now the two of them walked through the crisp spring breeze together. Chihiro took a moment to look over his outfit once more and giggled. Asahina had elected to tie a nice red tie around his neck, and had said something about it bringing out his eyes, and Sakura had made sure he wore his nicest dress shoes. He apparently looked 'cute', though he wasn't exactly sure what that meant, or if it was a good thing or not. Chihiro's expression made him think it was probably meant as a compliment.

"You look nervous," Chihiro said suddenly. "Like your mind is wandering. Are you still a little scared about it?"

Kiyotaka gulped at her accuracy, and then he thought back to a night many months ago when he'd found Mondo drunk and hysterical.

That night he had begun by scolding him for underage drinking, but had then demanded that the biker tell him once and for all why he was in so much pain, why he felt he had to shoulder everything alone, why he felt he had to be strong all the time. Mondo's expression had changed at that, and then Kiyotaka had seen a completely different boy. One that was alone and afraid and didn't know how to process his grief.

This other Mondo told him the truth, told him about how his recklessness had cost his own flesh and blood— his _only family_ — his very _life_. He remembered how that revelation had cut right through his heart, and how he'd been unable to say or do anything but hold the larger man as he cried and cried.

Most of all he remembered the promise he had made to himself then and there that he would never, _ever_ hurt Mondo— that he would do everything in his power to protect him, and to shoulder his burden with him, and to make him realize someday that he didn't have to be someone he wasn't. He swore that he would continue to love and care for Mondo even if he was, as he would probably put it, a _weakling_.

But Kiyotaka couldn't say any of that. He had promised to keep it to himself. As much as he liked Chihiro, and as much as he trusted her, he could not tell her.

"I don't want to mess up and hurt him," he said vaguely. It left out the explanation, but the sentiment remained, and perhaps it didn't need any explanation.

Chihiro hummed in understanding, and there was silence for a few minutes as she continued to study his expression. She clicked her tongue, and Kiyotaka quirked a brow at her.

"You never told me the other thing that was bothering you. I definitely hit a nerve earlier when I asked about it."

Kiyotaka's face paled somewhat, and his eyes narrowed only slightly, but he did not say anything. Chihiro moved closer to him and slowed her pace to take his hand in hers once more, and his fingers wrapped around hers absent-mindedly, as if he was desperate for the warmth.

"I wanted to walk alone with you so you could talk about it if you wanted to. I won't judge you or anything, I promise!" She continued. She saw Kiyotaka's brow slacken somewhat, and his eyes flickered with a vague sadness.

"It's about my grandfather," he began vaguely, and Chihiro felt her face twist into a glare.

Toranosuke Ishimaru had been a corrupt politician, but more than that, he had been two-faced and strict with his own family. Kiyotaka had always said his feelings on the man were mixed and confusing, that he'd both loathed and admired him in equal measure. Anything that had to do with him was sure to be upsetting.

"Tell me. What did he say that hurt you so much?"

Kiyotaka straightened his back and tried to put on an air of disinterest, of professionalism, that failed to fool Chihiro.

"When I was very young, Grandfather used to teach me about politics and about the professional world. He was the one who taught me my table manners, and my English, and how to stand up straight and lace and polish my boots and keep my uniforms pressed. He taught me many things that stuck with me, and for that, I am most grateful. Other lessons of his... Those I did not appreciate as much."

Chihiro squeezed his hand when he paused. He managed a small smile.

"Grandfather... Grandfather wanted me to marry a high-class woman one day, and his view on marriage was old-fashioned. I almost felt like he wanted me to find a servant rather than a wife. He would tell me about the qualities I should look for in a 'good' wife, and I would interrupt him to say, 'but I like boys!' At first he would laugh... I think he thought I was joking. 'You're just confused', he said a couple of times."

Chihiro felt her face twist into a deep frown. She already knew where this was headed.

"After a while, he realized that I was _not_  joking, and then... Then he got angry. He said that if I continued to think that way, I would never get anywhere in life. I was young, so I didn't understand what the problem was, and I ignored it. At first, anyway."

"...And then?"

Chihiro felt a bit of dread. Kiyotaka flinched, and looked around for a moment. He looked somewhat reluctant to admit this.

"Well... He suddenly turned very grave. I thought it was just a minor difference in opinion, but when he started to act like I had offended him, like I had dishonored the family somehow... I started to feel scared, and I wondered if I had truly done something wrong. And then one day, um... One day he threatened to tell my father."

The prefect took a moment to swallow down the hard lump in his throat. He wasn't crying, but his expression was unusually hard. Chihiro fought to keep her grip on her friend's hand gentle, and not to let her anger frighten him.

"Before then, I had thought nothing of it," Kiyotaka continued. "I would have told father myself if he were to have asked me, it had simply never come up in conversation somehow. But when Grandfather said that, and when he said it the _way_ he said it..."

"You felt like you had to keep it a secret. You thought it was wrong. Didn't you?"

Chihiro's tone was almost accusatory, though she didn't mean it to be. Kiyotaka had been a very young child. It wasn't like he had any way of knowing better than to let someone treat him that way.

"...I did. And I suppose... That even long after he passed, Grandfather's attitude stuck with me. I was so young, I didn't know how to think for myself. And he was someone people respected at that point. I figured he must have been right. ...I still loved him then, and I thought he loved me."

"That's _horrible_." Kiyotaka seemed to take the condemnation as reassurance, and he removed his hand from Chihiro's to lightly ruffle her hair.

"Even now, it unsettles me a bit... I've never told anyone before today, after all. He put the thought in my head that people would be upset if I said something even long after I realized there was nothing _wrong_ with how I felt."

"Even after the shame passed, the _fear_  remained, huh?"

Kiyotaka only hummed, but it was enough, and Chihiro ran to his side to lock his arm with hers by the elbow. She gripped the arm with her other hand and leaned into it, almost as if she was hugging it. Kiyotaka chuckled.

"You know, I _have_ always promised myself that I would surpass him. Perhaps I should consider this part of that process... Letting go of his old-fashioned ideals."

The conversation more or less halted there, as Chihiro felt she didn't need to say anything. She blinked at her friend with wide eyes, wondering when he'd decided this. She saw the park approaching on the horizon, and stopped one last time to face Kiyotaka properly. She put her hands on her hips and stood at her full height.

"I want you to be happy and forget about that crummy old man and all those terrible things he said, got it?"

Kiyotaka nodded fiercely.

"Got it! I know now that I have done nothing wrong."

"That's good, but you need to know it's not wrong _in_ _here_..." Chihiro patted her heart. "...And not just _up_ _here_." She pointed at her head. "Can you do that for me?"

Kiyotaka frowned and studied the sidewalk for a moment, and then his stance stiffened like he had arrived at a decision.

"...It _can't_ be wrong. How I feel about Mondo... Isn't something most people will ever find, even when they spend their entire lives searching. It couldn't possibly be wrong!"

Chihiro grinned at his enthusiasm and felt tears fall from her eyes. She wiped at her face with her sleeve only once before she jumped forward and seized the boy in a crushing hug. He returned the motion for a moment, and then squirmed uncomfortably under the pressure of it.

"Why are you hugging me so tightly?! I can't breathe!!"

Chihiro laughed somewhat awkwardly and released him, then stepped back to scratch the back of her head.

"I'm just... really proud of you. That's all."

They stared at one another for a moment before they fell into a warm and casual fit of laughter. They each took a moment to catch their breath before Chihiro perked up, taking his hand in hers and running towards the center of the park.

When he had nearly reached the fountain at the very center, he jumped, as several figures burst from the bushes to greet him.

"Maizono-chan! Asahina-chan! Oogami-chan!"

The girls laughed at his blunt speech, and Asahina took his hands in her own and danced around for a moment. Maizono blushed.

"Sorry for running out on you earlier! Oowada-kun needed my help."

Kiyotaka blinked in surprise, and then turned to Chihiro.

"Is that where you ran off to, Chi?"

Chihiro nodded, but felt no need to apologize.

"Okay, so Kyouko-chan told me to tell you to head to the fountain square! Mondo-kun is waiting!" Asahina whisper-shouted. She looked around, mostly at the bushes.

Kiyotaka turned beet red at that, and instinctively moved to run away or collapse, but felt Sakura support him from behind. He smiled gratefully up at her even as he struggled to find words.

"I-I... O-okay. This is it, I-I guess."

"You have the note, right?" Chihiro asked, and Kiyotaka nodded.

"Alright, then. It would seem the time has come. The girls and I shall watch from the shrubbery to see that all goes well," Sakura assured him, patting his shoulders one last time before she ducked to return to the cover of the hedges. The others fit behind them just fine, but she had to lower her head, as it would otherwise poke above.

Kiyotaka watched the girls vanish and heard them scurry along the edges, clearly headed for the fountain. The fountain square, where Mondo waited for him. Where _his future boyfriend_ waited for him.

He swallowed thickly, inhaled a deep breath, and took his first steps forward with wobbly knees.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Actually happy with this one! 
> 
> As someone who dealt with their own internalized homophobia for a while, this chapter was very personal to write, as is anything dealing with the subject for me. I try to approach it respectfully and realistically, and I hope that comes across. I have to say from experience that it's sometimes the little things people say and do that stick with you the most.


	9. The Meddlers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're going back in time again! This is the story of how everything came together, told from many perspectives.

Kyouko Kirigiri, unbeknownst to many of her classmates, was always observing those around her.

Mondo did not notice her when she saw him pass Kiyotaka a note, and more than this, he was unaware that she'd been observing him a long while.

She'd noted obvious changes in his behavior, like the drastic differences in his body language when he was with Kiyotaka versus when he was with anyone else. She noticed how much his attitude had improved in regards to schoolwork and avoiding fights, and observed how Kiyotaka had become much more relaxed.

Kirigiri was more than observant: she had become quite meddlesome. It was with her observations in mind that she approached Mondo in the hallway and bluntly asked him what he was doing.

Mondo made some terrible excuse, or rather, he didn't bother trying to make one at all. He simply refused to explain himself. He did not have to, of course. Kirigiri saw Kiyotaka exit his classroom somewhat glumly and begin walking down the hall, and she knew her suspicions were correct.

Kirigiri noticed a certain boy observing the scene from nearby, so she ducked into the classroom she had seen him in and pulled him away from the door. The two watched in silence as Mondo chased after Kiyotaka and shoved a different note into his hand. Mondo fled before Kiyotaka could react properly, and then he stared blankly ahead and rushed to his room with the note still in his hand.

"It's happening," Kirigiri said quietly as she released the boy from her grasp.

" _What's_ happening?"

"Oowada-kun is asking Ishimaru-kun for a date. _Really_ , Makoto-kun. I thought it was quite obvious."

Naegi blushed and peeked out the door to confirm that both boys had actually left, and then he looked up in thought.

"Asking him on a date... You mean like a _date_ date? I know they're close, but I didn't think it was a romantic thing."

Kirigiri sighed and shook her head. _Boys_.

"Have you not noticed that they have both developed a habit of blushing recently, particularly when the other is around? _Think_ , did either of them behave that way when you first met them?"

Naegi's mouth fell open slightly as he thought, and his brow furrowed.

"Uh... Yeah, you're right. Ishimaru-kun used to have the same really serious expression all the time. And Oowada-kun didn't used to laugh as much as he does now. And the blushing... I don't remember that from before."

"When was the last time Oowada-kun got into a fight? And when was the last time Ishimaru-kun ruined everybody's fun and refused to listen to anyone?"

"I-it's been a while, huh?" Kiyotaka had actually helped Naegi pass a number of tests, he remembered, and had always been very encouraging about the results, even if they were less than perfect.

"Now, think about the way they behave together. If one of them was a girl, would you still see it as platonic? Be honest."

"...No," Naegi admitted, his shoulders slumping.

"They _like_ each other. And Oowada-kun is trying to bridge the gap, but... If they don't get any help, I fear they'll both just hide in their rooms and never discuss what must be discussed."  
  
Naegi nodded slowly. His head still seemed to be in the clouds. He was likely reflecting on his experiences with the boys and seeing them in a new light.

"Okay... So let's help them out!" He declared, and Kirigiri smirked.

"You and I are on the same page. Here's what we're going to do."

 

* * *

 

Kirigiri found Kiyotaka alone in his bedroom, obviously flustered. She explained to him what had apparently gone over his head, and did her best to calm him down. She inspected the letter, noting the careful detail that had been put into it. She smiled and shook her head as she pulled out her cell phone.

The person Kiyotaka likely needed to see most was Chihiro Fujisaki, but Kirigiri didn't have her number. They got along, but hadn't spent much time alone, and so they'd simply never made the exchange. Chihiro would have to be fetched in person. She pulled up the contact information for Aoi Asahina.

_Lady Sherlock: Asahina-chan_

A few moments of silence. She heard Kiyotaka slapping himself, trying to stay focused and calm.

_Donut Girl: What's up Kyouko-chan??_  
_Lady Sherlock: Ishimaru-kun needs help, and I think you and Oogami-chan would be good for him right now_  
_Donut Girl: Is he okay what happened?!?!!?_  
_Lady Sherlock: He's fine. Oowada-kun gave him a note confessing his feelings and he's a little overwhelmed and unsure of what he should do._  
_Donut Girl: Feelings??_  
_Donut Girl: WAIT_  
_Donut Girl: WAIT IS HE ASKING HIM OUT OMG OMG OMG_

Kirigiri took a moment to laugh at Asahina's enthusiasm. Apparently she _wasn't_ the only one to have picked up on Mondo's obvious crush.

_Lady Sherlock: Yes!_  
_Donut Girl: Well is he gonna say yes?!?!_  
_Lady Sherlock: I'm sure he wants to, but I think he's scared. He seemed like he's not sure he should believe it or not._  
_Donut Girl: Omg I'm totally there tell him not 2 worry!!_  
_Lady Sherlock: Will do. Please bring Oogami-chan, she's very calming_  
_Donut Girl: She's with me now, I'll tell her on the way_  
_Lady Sherlock: Do you happen to know where Fujisaki-chan is?_  
_Donut Girl: Check the library, she goes there 2 code_  
_Donut Girl: Remind me 2 give her ur number in case u forget!!_  
_Lady Sherlock: Okay. I'm going to go find her, and you two stall Ishimaru-kun. I have Makoto-kun rounding up some people to help Oowada-kun. Wish me luck._  
_Donut Girl: Will do! Tell Taka-kun that me + Sakura are on the way!!!_

Kirigiri put her phone back into her pocket before turning to Kiyotaka to offer comfort once more. She wasn't the best with affection, but she thought she made her intentions clear. She informed him not to worry, and assured him she would make sure everything went smoothly. With the guarantee that Asahina and Sakura would arrive soon, she took her leave and headed to the library.

 

* * *

 

Asahina sprang into action and pulled herself off of the ground. Sakura frowned in the middle of her sit-up.

"You should not move about so suddenly during exercise, Aoi. You could strain a muscle."

"We don't have time for exercise right now, Taka-kun needs our help!" She was already overexcited. Her attachment to and defensiveness of the prefect were quite obvious. She just about smothered him with affection every time they met.

"What has happened?!" Sakura shouted as she pulled herself from the floor. Asahina was literally hopping in place.

"Mondo-kun finally asked him out but they're both so nervous they're hiding in their rooms and Taka-kun doesn't know what to say or what to do and he needs somebody to guide him and support him and talk him through the plan—"

Sakura took the swimmer by the shoulders and shook her gently, only to force her to focus her thoughts. Asahina blinked for a moment, and then shook her head.

"Y-you're right, I have to be calm! I want to help! I'll explain everything on the way, but we need to get headed to Taka-kun's room, okay?"

"Agreed."

Sakura took the lead by holding the door open for her companion, and Asahina giggled as she sprinted through it. Sakura had some difficulty keeping up with her. She was strong, and her reflexes were quick, but her sheer size slowed her down and made it hard for her to turn corners. Asahina, on the other hand, was wily and had a great deal of stamina. She bounded through the halls with the same speed that she cut through water.

Suddenly, Asahina screeched to a stop, and Sakura barely avoided a collision. She turned to see what had caught her attention.

"Sayaka-chan! Sayaka-chan!"

Asahina waved at the pop star. She had her personal microphone and lyric notebook in hand, and she looked surprised to see the swimmer.

"Oh, hi, Asahina-chan. Did you need something?"

"You like Taka-kun, right?!"

"...Oh, Ishimaru-kun? Of course I do, who doesn't?"

Sakura chuckled at that. The boy had once had trouble making friends, and now it seemed like people trampled over themselves in their efforts to shower him with love and affection. Girls, anyway.

"He needs help! Mondo-kun wants to take him out on a date, and I'm sure he could use lots of friendship right now. Plus, I suspect he'll want to get dolled up, and you're the best at that stuff!"

Maizono giggled girlishly.

"Oh, a date? How sweet! Sure, I'll swing by, but I do have a few things to take care of first. Where are we meeting up?"

 

* * *

 

"Kuwata-kun! Hagakure-kun!"

Naegi sprinted after the two boys. They were headed to the cafeteria. He grimaced at how long it had taken him to find them. Kirigiri had surely initiated her side of things already. He caught both of the boys by their shoulders with his hands and pulled them back into a corner of the hallway.

"The hell was that for?! I was gonna eat some—"

"There's no time for that now, we have to act fast! Oowada-kun needs our help!"

Leon's annoyance at the interruption quickly faded, and was replaced by confusion. Hagakure... Well, he always looked confused.

"I'm always ready to help out a bro in distress, but what's the problem?" Hagakure asked, stroking his chin.

"Have, uh, have you guys noticed that Oowada-kun has been acting a little strange lately?"

Leon scoffed loudly and rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, _duh!_ He keeps blowin' me off whenever he finds out Ishimaru is gonna be there! I thought they were friends, but I guess they had some kind of falling out."

"No, that's not it at all! They didn't have a fight! Oowada-kun... Oowada-kun came to a certain realization, and it's made it difficult for him to face Ishimaru-kun!"

Leon blinked at him for a moment, and then his face twisted into a wolfish grin.

" _Ooooooohhhhhhhhhhh_. Wants a little piece o' the hall monitor, does he? What a fuckin' cliche!"

"I didn't even realize what was going on, but Kyouko-chan made it seem obvious. I honestly feel foolish now," Naegi said through a laugh.

"So wait, does he, like. _Like_ like Ishimaru-chi?" Hagakure asked, his voice as slow and drawn out as always. Naegi nodded.

"Yeah, he just passed him a note asking him out, but he got flustered and ran away to his room! Kyouko-chan and the girls are helping Ishimaru-kun out, and she says that she has a plan of some kind, but somebody has to check on Oowada-kun and make sure he doesn't chicken out!"

Leon laughed and rubbed his hands together.

"Okay, okay, let's go! I don't know if you know this, but I'm something of a romance master. People want my help _all the time_."

"I'm sure they do," Naegi responded flatly. He was actually quite sure that _wasn't_ true, but he needed all the help he could get.

Naegi noticed that Leon had a mischevious twinkle in his eye. The redhead said that he had to get something first, and elbowed Hagakure. Hagakure seemed to play along, and they both vanished into the music room for a moment before returning. It was obvious they were both trying to hold back their laughter.

"Well, let's go, brah!" Hagakure shouted as he took the lead, and Naegi ran to keep up with his longer legs. He wondered if maybe he should have gone alone after all.

 

* * *

 

"Fujisaki-chan, there you are."

The little programmer looked up from her laptop to see the detective approaching her, and she smiled.

"Hello," she chirped. Kirigiri didn't respond right away and instead took a seat next to her, looking even more serious than usual.

"You are close to both Ishimaru-kun and Oowada-kun, yes?"

Chihiro slammed her laptop closed and turned to face the detective.

"Are they finally talking about it?! Are they going out?!"

Kirigiri couldn't help but snicker as she shook her head. Chihiro was around them more often than she was— the tension had likely been killing her.

"It's getting there. Oowada-kun passed him a note that confessed how he feels, but he ran away. I sent Asahina-chan and Oogami-chan to Ishimaru-kun's room to see if he's okay, but I feel that he has something serious he needs to talk about. Everyone would be grateful for your assistance."

Chihiro had already begun packing up her things before Kirigiri had finished her explanation. She did a small bow as she stood.

"I've got it, I'll go and check on him!"

And then the programmer was gone, and before Kirigiri could ask to exchange phone numbers. At least she was enthusiastic about helping.

Alone once more, she stroked her chin and thought. The boys would have to meet somewhere, and it would have to be somewhere with a place for her to hide and observe. She could think of a few pretty places nearby, but none that offered the cover she wanted. She also wanted a place with multiple walking routes, as she didn't want the boys to see each other too early. She pulled out her phone.

_Kyouko <3: Makoto-kun, how are things on your end? I have a question for you_  
_Luckster: I literally JUST found Hagakure-kun and Kuwata-kun!! >:/ what do you need?_  
_Kyouko <3: The boys have to meet someplace, somewhere with multiple routes and cover where we can hide. Someplace pretty. Any ideas?_

There was a long pause, and Kirigiri imagined that Naegi was discussing things with the boys. She doubted that those two had any helpful suggestions.

_Luckster: How about the park downtown? It's not a long walk, it's pretty, there's lotsa ways to get there, and the center fountain area has hedges :D_

Kyouko blinked in surprise. She'd been to the park once or twice with the girls to picnic by the trees, but hadn't been to the center.

_Kyouko <3: That's a great idea. Do you go there often?_  
_Luckster: Um........... Well u see, I was scoping it out. Kuwata-kun said its nice, so I thought it was a good idea_  
_Kyouko <3: Scoping it out?_

Another pause, and she wasn't sure what Naegi was doing this time.

_Luckster: I wanted to take you there_

Kirigiri stared at the message, and slowly smiled to herself.

_Kyouko <3: It sounds very nice._

With the location settled, Kirigiri stood to find a sketchpad. Things would go faster if she could draw everyone specific walking routes.

 

* * *

 

Asahina and Sakura had done their best to calm Kiyotaka, but it was Chihiro's late arrival that really sealed the deal. With her help, he arrived at a decision, one he seemed sure of.

As they had talked to the prefect, Kirigiri had sent the occasional update to Asahina's phone and settled on a location. She was keeping everyone filled in on Mondo's progress, and there was now a very specific game plan. Asahina had thought to turn off the vibrate on her phone, so it seemed the boy had not noticed.

Asahina realized, after a moment, that Chihiro had likely been rushed. She used her skill in covert texting to her advantage and typed up the entirety of the situation, sending it to the programmer in large chunks. Chihiro quickly thought to turn off her vibrate as well, and did not read the messages right away.

It was only after Maizono finally arrived that Chihiro truly began to read.

_Hina: So Mondo passed Taka a note in class but he crumpled it up and threw it back. Mondo made a new 1 in his next class and gave it 2 Taka in the hallway and Kyouko saw him do it. He got nervous and ran 2 his dorm. Kyouko got Makoto and sent him 2 round up the boys and go help Mondo, and texted me and Sakura and sent us 2 Taka's room! Leon and Hiro are with Makoto and Mondo RN_

Chihiro paused her reading to glance at Kiyotaka, who was still having his eyebrows trimmed. Maizono was doing an excellent job at keeping him distracted. She'd already been briefed on everything, apparently— Asahina and Sakura had followed her into the bathroom to whisper only moments after her arrival.

_Hina: Makoto said it took him a while 2 find the boys, so we have 2 keep Taka in here as long as possible. Kyouko doesn't want him asking 2 many questions about the plan because he worries 2 much_  
_Hina: We r all going 2 meet in the park center, and she'll have 2 meet u in person 2 give u ur map and prep u. Then we all have 2 hide and wait for Mondo 2 hopefully not mess everything up_  
_Hina: Which I mean in the nicest way possible_

Chihiro smirked and put her phone away, realizing too late that Kiyotaka had seen her reading something. She hoped he wouldn't get suspicious. Just as she had this thought, Maizono sighed and picked up her phone.

 

* * *

 

As soon as Maizono was alone, she closed the bathroom door and properly put her phone to her ear.

"What is it, Kuwata-kun?" Her tone was quick and terse.

"Sayaka, _baby!_ Is that any way to talk to your future husband?!"

"I don't know, tell me when you find him." She wasn't normally so snippy with the baseball star, but she didn't want to waste time when Kiyotaka needed help. She heard Leon scoff.

"Well, listen, I'm not callin' to bug ya. See, Oowada has decided he wants to look his best for the little ol' hall monitor, and we wanna have you give him a nice haircut! Can you do that?"

Maizono did her best not to sound too eager. She'd always, _always_ wanted to know what the biker would look like without his signature hairstyle.

"That sounds doable! I'm with Ishimaru-kun right now, but I'll leave. I assume you're in his dorm?"

Leon quickly gave her the details before thanking her and hanging up. Maizono made a mental note of the things she'd need to grab, and then said quick goodbyes to everyone as she rushed away.

Upon her arrival in Mondo's room, however, she quickly realized she needed backup. Even between the four of them, it was difficult to keep Mondo restrained. Years of over-styling and poor care had left his hair a mess, and to pull through the knots was painful. She took a moment to step back and pull out her phone.

_Idol: Fujisaki-chan, are you still busy?_  
_Chibi: Is it important? It's apparently okay if I leave as long as I walk him alone_  
_Idol: We're trying to cut Oowada-kun's hair and he's being a big baby about it because of all the knots. He's already kicked Kuwata-kun a few times :'D_  
_Chibi: oh my GOD say no more. -_- I'm on my way_  
_Idol: Thank you!!! I wasn't sure what to do!!!_

Maizono breathed a sigh of relief and picked up her brush once more, laughing at the way the boys braced themselves for impact.

 

* * *

 

Chihiro arrived without explanation, but Naegi more than welcomed her. She calmed Mondo easily, as if it came naturally. When he had a chance, he asked Chihiro where she had been. She explained as briefly as she could.

"I need to see Kyouko-chan for a minute so she can give me directions, and she needs to fetch you, so we'll to have her over here at some point. It's up to you to distract him somehow, okay?"

Chihiro nodded, then returned her attention to Mondo. Naegi, in the meantime, sent a text to Kirigiri warning her to be on alert. Before long, Chihiro and Maizono had thought of a good enough distraction. They picked out clothes for him to wear and shoved him into his bathroom. Naegi had his phone out before he heard the door shut.

_Luckster: OOWADA-KUN IS CHANGING IN THE BATHROOM GET OVER HERE WHILE HE CANT HEAR US  
Kyouko  <3: I'm on my way!_

Naegi whispered at everyone to keep quiet and gestured at Chihiro.

"Kyouko-chan says they're finishing up with Ishimaru-kun, but he can't get there before Oowada-kun! As soon as you get a chance, get out of here and follow Kyouko-chan, okay? She'll tell you where to go and what to do."

Chihiro nodded, and as he heard the very light rapping on the door, Naegi rushed to the entryway. Kirigiri, thankfully, did not need to be told about their small timeframe. She always acted with some sense of urgency.

"Here," she said as she shoved a piece of paper into his hand. "Walking directions to the park. You and the boys will take the shorter route with Oowada-kun. Keep him calm, and get there fast."

She peered over his shoulder and waved at Maizono, who was quite good at acting like nothing had happened. The sound of a door opening passed Naegi by as he asked for more details, and Chihiro darted away to keep Mondo distracted.

"Fujisaki-chan has to walk alone with him, see, as I feel there's something else he may need to discuss."

"That makes sense. Anyway, I know this route, so we can get there fast. Are you heading straight to the park?"

"I am, though I must regroup with the girls first. I will text you if anything comes up and we need you to stall."

Naegi suddenly became aware of the eyes boring holes in his back, and turned to see that Mondo was looking at the two of them quizzically. He flashed a thumbs-up at Chihiro, muttered an apology to Kirigiri, and slammed the door.

 

* * *

 

Kirigiri blinked at the door. She had seen Mondo for a brief moment before she'd been pushed out of the room. His looked had improved greatly. She owed Maizono her thanks— hers _and_ Kiyotaka's.

She didn't have to wait long. Only a minute or two passed before Maizono ran into the hallway, and Chihiro not long after. She took both of them by the arms and pulled them along to her dorm room, where Asahina and Sakura waited.

Sakura stepped forward and produced a bouquet, and Kirigiri smiled at it.

"You've outdone yourself, Oogami-chan. This will do quite nicely."

Most people would never guess it, but Sakura quite liked flowers and was skilled at arranging them. Kirigiri had asked her to stop by the school greenhouse and put something together, and to do so quickly. She winced as she imagined Sakura running down the halls at full speed with an arm full of flowers, but she had managed to pull it off, so she couldn't complain.

"Now that that is settled, shall we be off?" The large girl asked.

"Ah, yes. Maizono-chan, you'll accompany the three of us. I hope you don't mind hiding in the bushes. And Fujisaki-chan—"

"I'm gonna go get Taka and take him for a separate walk," the excited programmer interjected. She looked very determined. Kirigiri turned to study her expression more closely.

"You look fired up about something. Was I correct in guessing that he would need some alone time with you?"

"Y-Yeah, he definitely had something else he needed to talk about. He dodged the question when I asked him."

"That's probably because of us," Asahina admitted. "We're good friends, but we don't know him on as deep and personal a level as you or Mondo-kun. He must not have been comfortable talking about it in front of us."

Kirigiri nodded in understanding.

"Well, then... Good luck, Fujisaki-chan. Take the longer route and walk slowly, we want Oowada-kun to get there first."

The detective pulled a piece of paper from her breast pocket and handed it to Chihiro. The programmer unfolded it and smirked. It was a small simplified map with walking directions highlighted in yellow. She glanced it over for a moment and quickly memorized it— she did a lot of walking around town and had already had an idea of where to go.

Meanwhile, Kirigiri pulled out her own map to use as reference and walked to stand beside Maizono, Asahina, and Sakura.

"We will head to the park. We're taking a third route, a shortcut, to guarantee that we get there first. Try to keep Ishimaru-kun focused on talking, okay? He has a tendency to overthink things."

 

* * *

 

Finally, everything had fallen into place. Kirigiri returned to her spot behind the bushes, now empty-handed as she had given away the bouquet. She would have Mondo properly thank Sakura later, but for now she needed to keep him focused.

The boys took their places, and she noticed Leon and Hagakure giggling about something. She glared at them, but didn't say anything. She knew Hagakure didn't have an inside voice and didn't want to give him any excuse to speak.

She turned and saw Sakura ducking, and saw Chihiro, Maizono, and Asahina huddled beneath her shadow. Chihiro struggled to pry the bushes apart somewhat in order to get a better view.

Finally she looked at Naegi, who blushed when his eyes caught hers.

"Thanks for helping," she whispered.

"It's no problem at all," he replied. "I'd do anything to help my friends."

Kirigiri turned to face forward once more and smirked.

_Anything, indeed._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHY DID THIS TURN OUT SO FUCKING LONG I HAVE NO IDEA HOW IT HAPPENED
> 
> The text message convos were fun to write! The nicknames are what they have people registered in their phone as, so "Lady Sherlock", for instance, is what Asahina's phone has Kirigiri as, and Kirigiri has Asahina recorded as "Donut Girl". Hope it's not too confusing, and I tried to keep the nicknames obvious enough.
> 
> As for the heart after Kirigiri's name in Naegi's phone and his wanting to take her to the park, interpret that how you will. I like the pairing, but haven't decided if I want them to be properly dating here or if it's just sort of a shared crush. It would be kinda funny if Kirigiri was super meddlesome about other people's love lives and didn't notice someone blatantly crushing on her, though, wouldn't it?


	10. Together...? TOGETHER!!

Kiyotaka entered the fountain area on shaky legs. His head was spinning, replaying every memory of his and Mondo's time together, and he felt suddenly self-conscious about his appearance. All of this was both magnified and erased completely (somehow at the same time) when he saw Mondo.

"Kyoudai, you look so different!" It was all he could manage in lieu of a proper greeting. He was briefly aware of some shuffling behind the hedges, but quickly elected to ignore his friends in favor of Mondo.

He _did_ look different. His hair was cut and clean, his clothes were fitted and toned down, and his face was free of eyeliner. His expression had changed, somehow. He looked a lot more grown up.

Mondo fidgeted at the outburst, shoving a hand into his pocket and turning his face away slightly. Kiyotaka noticed that his cheeks were already turning red.

"Y-yeah," the biker stammered. Kiyotaka heard him gulp.

"You did not have to change anything! We all like you just the way you are!"

Mondo snapped his head back to face the prefect and fixed him with a glare.

"H-Hey, you're one to talk! Didja think I wouldn't notice your little trim?!"

Kiyotaka laughed, just then remembering his newly trimmed eyebrows, and nervously scratched the back of his neck, and as he did so he took a moment to fully digest Mondo's 'new look'. It wasn't that Mondo looked _bad_ by any means, not at all. It was just so startlingly _different_. He'd gotten used to that corn-cob hair, as silly as it was, and had even developed a bit of an odd affection for it.

(He didn't miss the hammer pants, though. The fitted jeans were... They were _nice_.)

"My eyebrows? Maizono-chan and Asahina-chan said that girls do this much all the time, so it's not as if I'm doing anything drastic. _You_ , though, you look... Almost like a different person," he clarified, and Mondo's blush deepened.

"That was the idea. I'm, uh, I'm tryin' to make a point to ya."

Kiyotaka paused. He looked over his friend's new appearance once more. He didn't see an obvious message hidden in it anywhere.

"And what point would that be?"

Mondo groaned and raked a hand through his hair. The action looked a bit odd, like he wasn't used to being able to do it, and he probably wasn't. The pompadour had been somewhat difficult to maintain, and he'd always been very finicky about letting anyone touch it or getting it wet.

"T-the point is that I can be a proper adult some day, that I can take care of ya and do whatever ya need me to do to... To be supportive, supportive of you and your dreams. There's more to me than a biker thug, and _you_ know that. You've _always_ believed that, even when I didn't!

"I'm gonna... I'm gonna go to college, or get an apprenticeship, and I'm gonna become a carpenter. I-I want ya to feel like ya don't have to be ashamed of me, and I don't wanna hold ya back, so I'll... I'll... I'll be the BEST DAMN CARPENTER YOU EVER SAW, I PROMISE!"

Mondo's face went beet-red as he clapped a hand over his mouth. Kiyotaka chuckled at the sudden change in volume and shook his head.

"It's okay, I know you're only nervous," Kiyotaka assured. Mondo relaxed only slightly, and didn't move his hand.

After a moment, he processed what Mondo had _actually said_ , and then he felt his own face heat up.

Mondo was promising that he would change, that he would do everything in his power to become a better person. He'd gone so far as to clean up his appearance as some kind of reflection of his plans to clean up his act (something he'd already been doing, even if he had not realized it). He _did_ look like someone who could hold a steady job— still like a biker, but more distinguished, a little older and wiser. Without the liner and the shadow of his hair, Kiyotaka could truly see the honest glint in his lavender eyes.

Most notable to him, somehow, was the absence of the Crazy Diamonds jacket. He wore it every day, after all, and had even used it as an extra blanket during the winter before Kiyotaka had forced him to buy a proper comforter.

"Where is your jacket?" He murmured, though he'd only meant to say it to himself. Mondo snickered at that.

"It's in my room. I mean, it's not like I could jus' throw it away—"

"I'm glad. ...That you still have it, I mean. I appreciate what you're trying to do, but I don't want you throwing everything that you've ever cared about away."

"I'm not," Mondo interjected too quickly. "I'm just... Realizing that those things don't have to define the whole of me, that's all. I've been livin' in another person's shadow for a long time. Figure it's time I figure out who _Mondo_ actually is, y'know? And somehow..." He trailed off for a moment to look around and make sure no one else passing by could hear him. "...Somehow I feel like he can't be all that bad. 'Cause, I mean... _You_ like him, right?"

Mondo let the question hang, and his expression changed to something searching and desperate. Kiyotaka smiled, his cheeks a bit pink and his eyes already watery.

"I do. I like him a lot."

"T-that's good. Bodes well for me. Because, um, we're _here_ because— actually, why _are_ you here? How'd ya know?" Mondo asked suddenly, apparently distracted from his purpose by his curiosity.

"Chi brought me here, and I believe she said Kirigiri-chan told her to."

"I knew they were up to somethin' else," Mondo muttered under his breath as he shook his head. Kiyotaka raised his eyebrows, and Mondo waved a dismissive hand. _We'll get to that later_ , he implied.

Kiyotaka took a moment to look over the biker once more and smiled. He felt a strange surge of pride at how honest the other boy was being.

"...Mondo. I truly appreciate all the hard work you're doing, and all that you plan to do, but why did you feel such a need? You have already been improving all on your own, you don't need to do it to impress me."

Kiyotaka pouted, and Mondo groaned and rubbed his forehead, likely trying to remove any nervous sweat.

"B-but that's _because of you!_ It's not that I think I _need_ to change for ya, it's that ya make me _wanna_ do it. You make me wanna be somebody more worthwhile."

Kiyotaka blinked. It was the nicest thing anyone has ever said to him. He hardly knew how to react.

"T-that's—"

"It's _true_ , is what it is! 'N I want us to be equals. I wanna be worthy of yer respect!" He stood up straighter, a more determined stance, and Kiyotaka just then noticed that the biker hadn't moved one of his hands from behind his back since they started talking.

Just as he opened his mouth to ask about it, Mondo moved forward rather jerkily and shoved something into his hands.

"I-I almost forgot. These'r for you. ...If you want 'em, that is," Mondo stuttered. Kiyotaka pulled the flowers up to where he could properly see them, and while he held them so close to his face he inhaled their pleasant scent. Lilacs and Lillies. It was a nice change from the typical roses, and he felt it suited him better.

He looked at the bouquet and smiled. He used it to hide the deepening blush on his face, and used his free hand to fetch something from the pocket of his jacket.

"I-I'll take them, but I'll need you to hold something else for me so I can admire them more properly."

Kiyotaka heard a rustling and a slight squeak in the bushes and shot them a warning glance. Mondo didn't notice. It was probably a good thing that he'd seemingly forgotten about the eavesdroppers, as he otherwise would have died of embarrassment by now.

He handed off the small yellow note, and moved to hold the bouquet with both hands when the paper was firmly in Mondo's grasp. Mondo had little reaction at first, as he'd apparently forgotten what it was. When he looked twice at it, he looked back at the prefect with wide eyes. Kiyotaka nonchalantly picked through his flowers. It was difficult not to smirk.

Mondo held the note with trembling hands and slowly unfolded it. It seemed like it was hard for him to force himself to look at it, like he was expecting the worst. When he had it open, he stared blankly at it, his expression completely devoid of emotion. Kiyotaka paused, and this time he couldn't hide the smile.

He'd surely seen the checked-off box.

"...Well?"

Mondo gawked at him, looking something like a fish out of water.

"R...Really...?"

"Yes."

" _Really?!_ "

" _Yes!_ Why would I check off the box if I didn't—"

Kiyotaka was interrupted by a high-pitched sob, and he froze in complete shock.

Mondo Oowada, _fearsome leader of Japan's most infamous biker gang_ , had literally collapsed to his knees. He had his face hidden behind his hands, but Kiyotaka could still hear him fighting for breath. He leaned slowly forward to the point that his head was against the ground. Kiyotaka could do nothing but laugh incredulously, and he knelt in front of him, holding the flowers under one arm and using his free hand to pat the biker's back.

"Now, now. Don't cry!"

"S-Sorry, I'm real sorry! It's just... I just...!!"

"You thought that I would say no?"

"N-not exactly, I jus'... I can hardly believe it!"

Kiyotaka continued to laugh as he tucked the flowers tightly under his arm, took his (new) boyfriend's hands, and moved to stand up. Mondo offered some protest at first, as he apparently wanted to keep his face hidden, but eventually allowed himself to be pulled up. He wiped his eyes as soon as he was standing. Kiyotaka pulled a small packet of tissues out of his pocket.

"I thought we may need some of these," he said through a chuckle. Mondo nodded gratefully as he took one and quickly cleaned himself up. When he'd disposed of the tissue, he grinned, a wide smile more bright and genuine than any he'd ever worn before. It made Kiyotaka's heart race a little.

"So whaddya think, anyway?" He asked, trying to break the somewhat awkward silence. He gestured at himself, at his new outfit and haircut. The prefect giggled and re-claimed Mondo's hands. His fingers and palms were rough and calloused, and he'd learned to love the feel of them on his own softer skin.

"I think that you look very handsome, but if I can be completely honest, that silly hairstyle of yours had grown on me somewhat."

Mondo smirked, his characteristic mischievousness returning to his expression.

"I mean, if ya like it that much, I can still rock the pomp for ya. It'd be smaller, though, and it might take a while in the mornin'."

Kiyotaka smiled. Not that he'd _stopped_ smiling, but each smile seemed a new one all its own somehow.

"I appreciate that."

"Um, anyway, I never really asked ya out loud, in person." He tightened his grip on the prefect's hands and did his best to stand up straight. Kiyotaka looked up at him expectantly. Mondo cleared his throat.

"Kiyotaka Ishimaru, will you go out with me?"

A pause, one where Kiyotaka did his best to hold back his tears and flashed a crooked but brilliant grin (and elected to ignore the muffled screeches from behind the hedges).

"Of course!"

He leapt onto his tiptoes and threw his arms around his boyfriend's neck.

It was just as he felt the embrace returned, just as he'd contemplated whether or not he should give the other boy a kiss, that the moment was completely obliterated by some kind of cacophonous screeching.

When the initial shock of the noise had passed, he vaguely registered it as a song, as musical notes of some kind, but he couldn't quite place them. Mondo's arms slipped off of him, and he turned to angrily face the unwanted orchestra.

" _What the fuck is all that racket?!_ "

Kiyotaka saw Hagakure and Leon standing in front of the bushes armed with brightly-colored kazoos and lungs full of air at the same time that he registered the song as _The Wedding March_.

They both lowered the instruments and laughed hysterically (Hagakure laughed so hard that he doubled over) and Leon shouted some kind of congratulations.

"That was _not_ part of the plan," Kiyotaka heard Kirigiri shout from behind the hedges. He could imagine the grimace on her face.

Before he could say anything, he registered screams as the redhead and the fortune teller took off at full speed, a very angry biker right on their heels and yelling something about them "ruining everything". Kiyotaka laughed, and the hedges parted as a group of annoyed and concerned girls (and Naegi) surrounded him.

"Kyouko-chan, I _promise you_ I had _no idea_ they were going to do that!"

"I believe you. I'm more upset with myself for not thinking to pat them down." She remembered the way they had been giggling and inwardly scolded herself.

"Do not fault yourself, Kirigiri-san. They are the only ones to blame," Sakura assured her with a friendly pat on the back. Asahina, still behind her, looked into the distance, where she could still barely see the troublemakers fleeing and Mondo in hot pursuit. It looked like he would probably catch up before long.

"We'd better make sure he doesn't kill them, though," Asahina added. She heard Hagakure scream something about needing to tell his family that he loved them, and Leon something about being too young and beautiful to die.

"Yes, of course. I would like to do so myself," Kirigiri muttered. I took a moment for it to register as a joke, as she rarely told jokes, but after a moment of concerned silence everyone laughed.

Kiyotaka looked down at his bouquet and smiled up at Sakura.

"You made this for me, didn't you, Oogami-chan?"

She blushed a did a slight bow as Asahina giggled.

"We didn't have time to take Oowada-san to the greenhouse to pick something out himself. Kirigiri-san sent me there in her stead, and I put something together."

"Everyone helped out a lot, didn't they?" He breathed, and the girls chuckled.

"I gave Oowada-kun his haircut," Maizono explained. "Oogami-chan got the flowers, Asahina-chan kept everyone informed, Fujisaki-chan kept you and Oowada-kun calm, the boys talked to Oowada-kun and walked him here, and Kirigiri-chan was the mastermind behind everything."

All eyes turned to Kirigiri, who actually blushed a bit under the scrutiny.

"I-I also made sure to have everyone waiting here just in case something went wrong. It backfired, of course, but the important thing is that the two of you worked things out." She took a moment to return to her usual composed look. "I wonder if I should meddle more in the future?" She mused, and Naegi grinned.

"You guys," Kiyotaka choked as his eyes watered. There was a chorus of girlish soothing noises as he pulled everyone, including Naegi, into a group hug. He was probably getting tears on someone's shirt, but they didn't seem to mind it.

As they pulled away, everyone congratulated him or clapped, and Kiyotaka found that he couldn't stop smiling. Wonderful new boyfriend aside, he tried to imagine _just what it was that he had done_ to acquire such wonderful friends.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THE END! (Don't kill them Mondo)
> 
> It might seem a bit OOC that Mondo cries, but I liked the interpretation of the sauna scene in the manga. That scene is cute because Taka is talking about how he doesn't have friends and Mondo suddenly bursts into tears, which catches Taka off guard but really touches him as well, as no one's ever cried for his sake. I imagine that's what Mondo is like emotionally— just sudden bursts of it, because he's always trying to act all tough and hold it in. Here he was just so shocked and so HAPPY that he couldn't hold it back!
> 
> I've been really excited for the fuckin' kazoo chorus, as I've had that idea for a while. I thought about them dragging Naegi into it, but he probably doesn't want to piss off Kirigiri. The dorks didn't get to kiss here because the boys fucked everything up, but I'm working on a sequel oneshot that will remedy that!
> 
> Thanks for reading! Sorry for the corny chapter title but I thought it was cute


End file.
